"You eat lunch with a liberal and you are ashamed to order dessert."

There are several things that amuse me about this article from Garrison Keillor, posted at salon.com. One is the picture (at right), which I guess is what Keillor would look like if he were to ever guest star on Dora the Explorer.

But I also find Keillor's love of telling stories to be romantic, and a great escape. As Keillor says, one of the ways to beat the doldrums of February, "...when everyone feels middle-aged even if you are 16," is to go have lunch with friends, and just tell stories.

As a light-hearted jab, he pokes fun at why liberals, poets and Republicans are not good lunch dates.

Anyway, it's a cute read, and should make you laugh. And maybe remind us of how important friends are to get us through the gallows of winter.