HOT!

"What are you up to these hot days before Christmas, I'll ask incorrectly?" asked a friend lately.  Why 'incorrectly'?  Is it because I never ask him or anybody personal questions, until they voluntarily reveal themselves?  He knows about my personal matters more than anyone else, and we've known each other for ages.  I hate when people you meet on the street or in line at a store, suddenly ask a personal question, after a brief conversation about vegetables or cranes across the avenue.   I cut them off (and later regret it, but that's who I are.)

And why 'hot'?  It's not hot where I sit, and it's certainly not hot where he hangs his hat.  Hot politically? Hot, as in Iran? Or in the Euro zone?  Hot Republican presidential campaign? It brought to mind Yogi Berra, when New York mayor John Lindsay's wife congratulated him on his outfit saying "You look cool, Yogi!", to which he responded "You don't look too hot yourself!" (Mrs Lindsay's reaction was not recorded by historians.) Anyway, my friend didn't explain, and I didn't ask, as we were discussing much more weighty matters.

I replied, quoting some forgotten piece of film dialogue: "As little as possible."