James Lileks' The Diner Ricochet

James is heading off on his annual sojourn but takes emough time to stop in and sit at his familar place at the long, boomarang-patterned Formica counter and talk a little Fourth of July and things that go BOOOOM in the night.

Getting lubricated while going off menu. It's as much fun as it sounds.

Refrigerator's acting up. Will take my regional soda with ice. Hold the metal shavings.

Brown sugar. Butter. Maybe some cream. Perhaps a dash of vanilla and a pinch of salt. That's the recipe for Butterscotch.

Or you just follow the directions on that 10-lb bag of powder over there.

You write and you write and you write some more. And you keep writing until you're done.

An episode that asks the eternal questions:

Is this good? Better? Worse? Better here? Or better here? What's the lowest line you can read?