RKS RUSSIAN LITERATURE: The Nature of a Gentleman Gambler (Fyodor Dostoevsky)

For instance a gentleman may stake, say, five or ten louis d’or – seldom more, unless he is a very rich man, when he may stake, say, a thousand francs – but he must do this simply for the love of the game itself, simply for sport, simply in order to observe the process of winning or losing, and, above all, as a man who remains quite uninterested in the possibility of coming out a winner. If he wins he, is at liberty, say, to laugh or pass a remark on the circumstance to a bystander, or place a stake again, or double his stake, even this he must do solely out of curiosity and for the pleasure of watching the play of chances and calculations and not from any vulgar desire to win.

Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Gambler”, 1866

RKS RUSSIAN LITERATURE: Roulette a Sordid Gambling Activity (Fyodor Dostoevsky)

In the first place, everything about it seemed so sordid – morally nasty and dirty, that is. I’m not talking about the expectant, restless folk who, in their scores – even in their hundreds – could be seen crowded around the gaming tables, because I could see nothing sordid in a desire to win quickly and win a lot. I have always applauded the opinion of a certain well-fed and well-off moralist who replied to someone’s excuse that ‘they only gambled for small stakes’ by saying ’So much the worse, since it’s just petty greed.

Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Gambler”, 1866

RKS CANADIAN LITERATURE: Guilt the Unavoidable Destiny of Widowhood (Joanna Goodman)

He slams the car door and steps back onto the sidewalk with a friendly wave. Alone in the cab, Arden lets her head fall back against the seat. She closes her eyes, feeling a little bit tipsy and disappointed, a lot guilty. As the taxi pulls into the street, she wonders if her feelings for other men will always be tangled up with guilt – if in fact, guilt is the unavoidable destiny of widowhood.

Joanna Goodman, “The Inheritance”, Harper Collins 2024

“Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom”: MY WALKING STYLE IN THE HOOD: THINK SINATRA’S “I DID IT MY WAY”

MY WALKING STYLE IN THE HOOD: THINK SINATRA’S “I DID IT MY WAY”

Regrets, I’ve had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

When walking in the hood with Bob he says I remind him of the Sinatra song, “I Did it My Way”. I start by deep contemplation when leaving the house should I turn right or left. Should I cross the street?

I am walking Bob not the other way around!

I go to Billy’s house and wait for him to emerge. Perhaps a twirl or two if he is not at home. Then up to Mookie’s to do the same. Then a backtrack to Lulu’s, then to Karl’s house as I have been to a few parties there. Then home unless I encounter some of my friends in which I will play with them and follow them around for a bit. Never much of a linear progression.

At night though in darkness I might continue in one direction. You might say when I walk in the hood I do it my way!

You might surmise all this is haphazard, but I have planned each chartered course along the way.

When I walk at the park it is mostly straight ahead.

“Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom”: OF BUZZING, HUMMING, WHINING AND GREEN BURRS: MY MULMUR HILLS ADVENTURE: I AM NO PIERRE RADISSON!

OF BUZZING, HUMMING, WHINING AND GREEN BURRS MY MULMUR HILLS ADVENTURE: I AM NO PIERRE RADISSON! MY MULMUR HILLS ADVENTURE

Before we packed up and headed back to Toronto all of us went for a short walk on the trail behind the tennis courts. High pitched whining, buzzing and humming all around me. And if I stopped little skeeters and all manner of insects attacked me. Bugs in the forest looking for my blood or flesh! Flying Draculas! Suzy Larue said no breeze to blow the little buggers away you are dead meat.

And those tiny green burrs on my head. OUCH I said to Bob removing them!

Let’s face it I am no Pierre Radisson.

I have a little poem;

As a Westie I love the outdoors

But stay away you blood sucking and flesh biting whores!

“Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom”: SATURDAY IN CREEMORE: LIFESTYLES OF THE TORONTO GENTRY: MY MULMUR HILLS ADVENTURE

SATURDAY IN CREEMORE: LIFESTYLES OF THE TORONTO GENTRY: MY MULMUR HILLS ADVENTURE

It has been close to twenty years since Bob and Fay have stayed with Suzy Larue. Mr. Larue is long since in the Great Land Beyond but his spirit hovers above the property.

Bob was looking forward to visiting the quaint town of Creemore where locals and the Toronto Gentry who have second grand homes were once seen mingling the streets. Farmers having coffee and breakfast with the Toronto Gentry. The quaint Creemore Brewery, perhaps the first truly local brewery in Ontario. Authentic small-town vibes.

We stopped at the outskirts of Creemore for some petrol and those gas pumps were so cool Bob said. One pump for EXTREME and another for REGULAR instead of a bank of numbers showing the grade. But the owner was Korean. About the only non-Caucasian we saw this Saturday morning so unlike Toronto where being a Caucasian is in the minority. Culture shock Bob noted!

The Toronto Gentry flooded the main street. Well dressed emitting a confident and smug air my nose detected. We had a sandwich at the Bank Cafe a popular Toronto Gentry hangout. Fancy coffees and they brought our BLT all wrapped up in fancy wax paper and tied with a ribbon! And yes Bob saw a local taking a coffee away and the fellow stuck out like a sore thumb. The Pine and Chez Michel exclusive eateries costing a bundle! Cyclists with the latest bikes and gear.

As Bob remarked, “What the hell has happened to Creemore! Where are the kulaks!”

The farmer’s market had very little produce instead full of niceties you might find at a Toronto “farmer’s market”. Bob, a jam maker, had an interesting conversation with a lady selling her homemade jams. To avoid the gunk Bob has on his strawberry jam he made this year she said freeze the strawberries then make the jam with them. He also bought some local honey.

We then drove to some tony dairy just outside of Alliston. They sell some of their products to high end Toronto stores that the Toronto Gentry regularly shop at back home in Toronto.

Then another stop Maple Grove Farms. With a minimal amount of produce but more high-end dainties and fancies. Delicious granola for sure I can attest to that with everything the Toronto Gentry requires for a fancy dinner party in the countryside.

As Bob said you can’t stop the Toronto Gentry as they are en masse in Niagara-on-the-Lake and Prince Edward County both a relative short distance from Toronto.

I enjoyed returning home to Suzy Larue’s where Bob cooked, may I say, a Toronto Gentry dinner of seared tuna with two complicated emulsions, brown rice and green beans!

Could it be Bob and Fay are sort of Toronto Gentry in the closet? Before you know it they’ll buy a farm here and become official Toronto Gentry in Creemore!

“Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom”: I ALMOST DROWNED CHASING A GREEN SQUIRREL! MY MULMUR HILLS ADVENTURE

I ALMOST DROWNED CHASING A GREEN SQUIRREL! MY MULMUR HILLS ADVENTURE

Up at Suzy Larue’s in the Mulmur Hills there is a pond and as I sidled up the edge of the pond, I saw a few strange looking green squirrels making croaking type noises and jumping into the water when I approached them. Being a patient hunter, I used all my stealth and crept up to one of these green squirrels and pounced on it. Missed it and ended up in the water! HELP I’m drowning!!! But wait I am swimming and enjoying, at least momentarily, the cool water. Thank goodness I made it “to shore”.

Bob said, “You almost caught that frog.” Well shiver me timbers I was frog hunting! Just as fun as chasing a squirrel I will say. Make a mistake and you’ll get a good soaking…adds some danger to the pursuit.

So, I’m grunting and rolling in the grass to dry off and I roll right back into the pond!

With my zero-success rate at snagging a frog or a squirrel I will just have to practice with hunting large blueberries and ants!

RKS CANADIAN LITERATURE: Cleaning Up Dog Shit and Marriage Vows (Joanna Goodman)

She does not feel young. She holds up her hand and twists her wedding band around her finger. Scott put it on her for the first time on a rooftop terrace in Gramercy Park, a lifetime ago. They were married there by a Unitarian minster, with only their families and a handful of good friends in attendance. The apartment belonged to the parents of one of her stepfather’s colleagues. The ceremony overlooked Manhattan, and she remembers thinking how strange it was to see people walking their dogs in the park below as she was saying, “I do.” It was the most momentous day of her life, and just an average day for those dogs and their owners, cleaning up shit and perhaps glancing up at the young couple on the terrace with their whole lives in front of them.

Joanna Goodman, “The Inheritance”, Harper Collins 2024

RKS American Literature: An Intelligent Woman’s Ability to See How Full of Shit a Man Is! (Dennis Lehane)

Now standing in front of Carmen Davenport’s building, holding both her hands by the fingers she tells him she had a nice night and he agrees that he did too and they both smile goofily and wonder if they should try another kiss, he realizes that what scares him about her is what scares him about all intelligent women – that’s she smart enough to see, very quickly how completely full of shit he is. He doesn’t know what he is doing; never did. Doesn’t know where he is going, never had a clue. He feels, at his essence, that he is a baby who was dropped by a stork and is still falling toward the chimney. Everything else he shows the world is costume.

Dennis Lehane, “Small Mercies”, 2023