Three things from DAH. Free every Friday!
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DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. Sometimes I've just got to.

First up this week: Gravitas … 
I worry that I'm not serious enough. Enough for what? I guess: to meet expectations. Whose? I'm already driving off the map of practical thought. I don't believe that behaving with greater gravitas would work for me. Everyone (including myself and my dogs) would think it was just me being silly. They'd probably be right. But there are times when I'd like to be taken seriously, I think. Gravitas, gravity, sounds a bit heavy to me. 
 
Second up this week, Graces …
I think of three graces: poise, Kelly, and poodle. There's also the grace of Christian theology, but, right now, that isn't what I think of. Behaving with good grace (poise, elegance, dexterity, fluidity) would lend gravitas without solemnly creased brow and slow deep-toned spoken words. I think of Grace Kelly's elegance and beauty, but I can't emulate that Hollywood blonde princess. Still, she left an indelible impression on me: she was so nice to grouchy Jimmy Stewart in Hitchcock's Rear Window. And then there's the joyful, energetic, playful standard poodle Grace, our dear friend's year-old companion. A beautiful Grace, possessed of a very bouncy, mouthy sort of poise. I would meld all three into me. 

Third up this week, Gratitude …
The first thing I do upon opening my eyes in the morning is smile. Another day! And I'm grateful. Grateful for friends and opportunity. Grateful for kindness and wisdom. And enthusiasms. Nothing energizes me so much as enthusiastic family and friends. Enthusiastic with open-hearted joy. Non-human family and friends, too. Grace the poodle enthusiasm? I'm grateful for it. Tinker and Lucy (our two dogs) enthusiasm? I'm grateful for it. Memories and adventures with passionate friends, old and new? So much gratitude. I'm grateful that I have every reason to smile at each new day.

A book I'm looking foward to:
Big Swiss, by Jen Beagin
Not yet published (next week, I think?). But I'm seduced by reviews, like this one: "Beagin writes with a zany, overflowing energy … Big Swiss is a comic novel, but it is one with a very tender core" (Vogue, Most Anticipated Books of 2023). And this one: "This funny, offbeat story asks questions about telling the truth, falling in love, and who we really are when no one else is looking -- or so we think" (Town & Country). One reviewer calls it "erotic cottagecore" (Electric Lit) Sounds right up my alley.

And a bit more: 

Butter,
by Elizabeth Alexander

My mother loves butter more than I do,
more than anyone. She pulls chunks off
the stick and eats it plain, explaining
cream spun around into butter! Growing up
we ate turkey cutlets sauteed in lemon
and butter, butter and cheese on green noodles,
butter melting in small pools in the hearts
of Yorkshire puddings, butter better
than gravy staining white rice yellow,
butter glazing corn in slipping squares,
butter the lava in white volcanoes
of hominy grits, butter softening
in a white bowl to be creamed with white
sugar, butter disappearing into
whipped sweet potatoes, with pineapple,
butter melted and curdy to pour
over pancakes, butter licked off the plate
with warm Alaga syrup. When I picture
the good old days I am grinning greasy
with my brother, having watched the tiger
chase his tail and turn to butter. We are
Mumbo and Jumbo’s children despite   
historical revision, despite
our parent’s efforts, glowing from the inside
out, one hundred megawatts of butter.

And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's Sometimes

Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.