Liars and Saints

 We are working with a carpenter, and he is like someone invented by Kristen Wiig. He generally doesn't come to work, and he offers the best reasons. These are my favorites, in ranked order: (7) "At the hospital. Don't worry, it's not COVID." (6) "Couldn't come this morning -- I'm at the post office." (5) "Diarrhea. Up since 1 AM. I'm so frustrated!" (4) "I actually stumbled and fell at a work site, and I have a nail sticking out of my eyeball." (3) "Just a really bad day. I can't talk about it." (2) "I get tired on your staircase." (1) "I actually *was* at your house today, and I did what I could. You must have been walking the dog." I love this man, and I find him inspiring. He's still around -- and yet I *already* miss his colorful role in my life.

It's Friday, and the world is a disaster. Travel back with me to a simpler time, when Kristen Wiig was starting her career. She became Farooza, a sweet tooth fairy with a good friend and a few spare minutes for water-cooler chatting. Farooza and her friend (Trixie) have a certain self-image: They are respectable, law-abiding tooth fairies. You take the tooth, and you leave the money. But friendship can lead to bravery, and bravery can lead to shocking confessions. Something about Farooza's presence causes Trixie to "open up": "Sometimes I don't leave the money." Farooza, shocked, still finds a way to recover. And Farooza repays Trixie with a disclosure of her own: "Sometimes I don't take the tooth." (And we're suddenly encouraged to see the life of the Tooth Fairy in a new way. What a shitty job! Who would want to take the tooth? Who would want to leave the money?) Pain can make you crazy. The life of a tooth fairy is...