"I'm so glad you don't whiten your teeth!" someone said to me last week. Thank you, I think. She said she meant that it was nice that I was "natural looking" and not fancied up with inappropriate window dressing. Yeah, well, my teeth are victims of the war - World War Two, darling - and I am not eager to call attention to my crooked smile. My father was overseas (that was inappropriate because he was too old, but he was a doctor, head of a casualty clearing station, like a MASH unit in the U.S., so he was allowed). He took a big deficit in his civilian income to serve, and then a demotion in his army rank (and pay) in order to get overseas, so there was no money to spare to do anything about my lopsided teeth. Well, one can smile and smile and be a villain and one can also smile and smile and mean well and try to look pleasant, if not happy. When Kate Middleton hit the national conscience, the Canadian national conscience, some photo-journalist pointed out, with samples, the fact that the Brit smiled with all their teeth and Canadians with far fewer, not a full-mouth smile. Suits me.

I just finished that when the computer ran out of power, so it's tomorrow now and charged, but a different date. So now I owe you one for today. Anon, anon.