Saturday 10 April 2021

Mary Grace Canfield


            On Friday morning the heat was off, I hope because it was warm outside and not because the landlord shut off the furnace, since I think it's too early for that. 
            I finished translating “Tic tac toe” by Serge Gainsbourg, but when I memorized the first verse I had to adjust the translation to make it fit better. 
            I had coffee one more time using the broken French press and then around midday I went out looking for a new one. They didn’t have them at Fullworth and so I rode up to the Dufferin Mall. The back entrance was closed to I had to ride almost up to Bloor and then around the front to Walmart. I went in an downstairs and asked the employee at the foot of the escalator. She said they weren’t allowed to sell any French presses. I asked why they were even open. She said in an annoyed voice that the government says they can only sell food. Why would anybody buy food at Walmart when No Frills is next door? 
            I rode back down to Queen and as I was passing my local Home Hardware I decided to stop and ask about French presses. Since we’re not allowed to shop inside I asked about French presses. He went and brought back four brands. I bought the Bodum Chambord, even though it was the most expensive, because it’s supposed to be the original French press although I don’t think it was really the first. It’s in most top ten lists for the best French presses. The one that broke seems to be a Pyrex knock off of the very same one that I just bought. They look almost exactly alike except that the Bodum is ever so slightly taller and has a longer handle. I’ve never bought a new French press before. I think I got the last one at the Salvation Army store and others I’ve found in the garbage. This one cost over $60 after tax and hopefully it won’t break. 


            I asked why they could be open if they aren’t just selling food and I they said that all stores can be open if they have curb side pick-up. 
            When I went home Sankara was sitting in front of our building and so I stopped to chat. I told him about the French press but a few minutes later he revealed that he thought that I was talking about “my friend's press". 
            I had kettle chips and salsa with sour cream for lunch. 
            I weighed 88.1 kilos at 17:50. I got halfway through a third reading of my lecture notes and shaved a few pages off them. 
            I weighed 88.8 kilos before dinner. I think the 17:50 weight must be wrong. 
            I had a potato, a half a chicken breast and gravy while watching Andy Griffith. 
            In this story the biggest dance of the year is approaching but suddenly Thelma Lou’s cousin Mary Grace comes to visit. Thelma Lou tells Barney that she won't go to the dance with him unless he can find Mary Grace a date. The problem is that Mary Grace would not be attractive to the average escort. He and Barney need to find someone who's also not a prize and not very bright. They settle on Gomer Pyle for whom this will be is very first date. Andy, Helen, Barney and Gomer all go to Thelma Lou’s place to meet her and Mary Grace and to talk before the dance. As they are all there making awkward small talk, suddenly Gomer gets up and says he has to go and do something. Thelma Lou and Helen find this to be very rude. They go to the dance without Mary Grace, who says she has a headache, but both Helen and Thelma Lou are too upset to enter the dance and so they all decide to leave. Meanwhile there is a knock on Thelma Lou’s door and Mary Grace answers it. Gomer is there and he explains that when he saw Helen and Thelma Lou wearing corsages and that Mary Grace didn’t have one he thought it wasn't right and so he went looking for one, which he now gives her. The dance is too far away to walk and so Mary Grace and Gomer decide to hand out together there. When Andy, Helen, Barney and Thelma Lou get back they hear swing music playing loud inside and find Gomer and Mary Grace dancing up a storm. 
            Mary Grace was played by Mary Grace Canfield, who played the housekeeper on The Hathaways and handywoman Ralph on forty episodes of Green Acres. She played Harriet Kravitz on Bewitched.






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