How appropriate

is it that a couple of days after Columbus Day I've fallen off the blog map?

Quite.

Tonight we-- Mr Big Food, Miss M. & I-- watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. It's the gateway movie. After you've seen it three or four times, you begin to understand heroes and cowards. After thirty-four times, you still wonder what was in Haley's hat box.

Haley seems to me to be the most tragic character. She was so feisty when she was young.