Aspirations

Do you read Lileks? You should. I'm not the first to sing James' praises; Hell, I'm not even the 5,000th. I read somewhere "The Lileks, he writes for me!" Maybe on Lex's blog? Whatever. I can't say it better. If you don't read James, here's a sample of what you're missing:

Because it was miserably, punitively, uselessly cold. Gnat slipped on the ice on the steps on the way to the bus. I slipped on the ice on the steps on the way back from the bus stop. Jasper ran out the back door, hit a patch, did a blurry little jitterbug that should have been accompanied by a Hanna-Barbera sound effect. The house was cold; the bathroom tiles were cold, the bathrobe was cold, my clothes were cold, my coat was cold when I took it from the entryway closet, which itself was cold. The car was cold when I started it up to pick up Gnat.

Precisely why I'll never, ever, live in a northern clime again. I can visit snow, but I damned sure can't live with it. But I digress.

I aspire to write like James, but I'm never gonna get there. There's lotsa stuff I can't do. I can't throw a 98 mph fast ball, can't hustle a motocross bike around a course like Joel Roberts did (now that statement dates me!), can't wow the wimmen with snappy repartee like any number of men. But I'll keep on trying...with the exception of the MX thing. I know my limitations.

My other blogger inspiration (model) is the lovely, talented, and witty Ann Althouse (link on the sidebar). And now you know. When I grow up, I wanna be like Ann and/or James. Or maybe Lex.