"Let's Ketchup!"

I had a brisket dinner on Park Avenue last night. I don't know what to make of that - part hard times, part great times? A year ago that might have been a 'hobo blackface' charity event.

But this was straight from the heart. My hostess decided to make something comforting because even though she and her husband and their two daughters are pretty well off, people are scared. You might be sitting at a marble countertop in an apartment on the 18th floor on Park Avenue, sipping a good red and catching up, but the shadows are all around you. Some of them walk in the door as your guests.

After-dinner talk was kids disappearing from private schools because their parents can't pay their tuitions anymore. And then, as my host pointed out, it's only a few skips and skids into 'no health insurance,' 'no food,' 'no home.'

This from the 18th floor, where the views are good. I'm going to get us that brisket recipe, which involved a lot of ketchup. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Smith - you are excellent people and beautiful friends.

In the midst of appetizers and discussion, their youngest daughter, age thirteen, announced - unprompted - that she thought we should call the current situation a Depression, and get on with it. Look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Start thinking constructively good instead of dwelling unproductively bad. If it's going to suck, let's make it a Really Great Depression. It will involve a lot of ketchup.

Out of the mouths of babes (in electric-blue jeans.) She could put me out of a job. I am going to try to get her to write for me here. You need to hear this.

I also joined Facebook several days ago, because I thought it would be good to 'network,' which seems useful to the unemployed in theory anyway. You certainly have the time for it. I got immediate contacts, responses, 'hey how are you,'s friend requests, voices from the deep past (now a shallow grave), etc., but there was something about it that felt like we were all people on a long line waiting for a bowl of soup, talking to each other while we waited. My host last night suggested that a truly clever entrepreneur could now launch "Inyourface," which would deal with the basic attack of being in instantaneous and unavoidable touch with everyone you've ever met. I'm guessing there would be 'enemy requests' and the rest.

Thank you for listening, ma'am.


FYI, Heinz's website has a ketchup widget, and social networking features, "squeeze a message," and "splat a friend." You send friends a message that says, "Let's ketchup!"