These charming sketches are a refreshing break from the commonplace affairs of ordinary life. They include a humorous encounter in a Bronx hardware store, a walk around the thirty-two-mile shore of Manhattan, a jolly portrayal of an English cattery, lyric evocations of life in a former sanatorium/monastery, and opinion pieces on language, the church, and patriotism. Impractical choices and fine adventures are told in the style of Willcott's award-winning newspaper column and blog.