Mr. James’s Reviews > Recitatif > Status Update
Mr. James
is on page 5 of 19
Things are not right. The wrong food is always with the wrong people. Maybe that's why I got into waitress work later – to match up the right people with the right food. -- T.M.
— Aug 31, 2026 11:10PM
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Mr. James’s Previous Updates
Mr. James
is on page 12 of 19
Maggie was my dancing mother. Deaf, I thought, and dumb. Nobody inside. Nobody who would hear you if you cried in the night. Nobody who could tell you anything important that you could use. Rocking, dancing, swaying as she walked. And when the gar girls pushed her down, and started roughhousing, I knew she wouldn't scream, couldn't – just like me – and I was glad about that. -- T.M.
— 4 hours, 20 min ago
Mr. James
is on page 8 of 19
Those four short months were nothing in time. Maybe it was the thing itself. Just being there, together. Two little girls who knew what nobody else in the world knew – how not to ask questions. How to believe what had to be believed. There was politeness in that reluctance and generosity as well. Is your mother sick too? No, she dances all night. Oh – and an understanding nod. -- T.M.
— Sep 02, 2026 02:38AM
Mr. James
is on page 4 of 19
When we stood for hymns she kept her mouth shut. Wouldn't even look at the words on the page. She actually reached in her purse for a mirror to check her lipstick. All I could think of was that she really needed to be killed. The sermon lasted a year, and I knew the real orphans were looking smug again. -- T.M.
— Aug 31, 2026 10:35AM
Mr. James
is on page 3 of 19
A pretty mother on earth is better than a beautiful dead one in the sky even if she did leave you all alone to go dancing. -- T.M.
— Aug 31, 2026 10:31AM
Mr. James
is on page 2 of 19
The kids said she had her tongue cut out, but I think she was just born that way: mute. She was old and sandy-colored and she worked in the kitchen. I don't know if she was nice or not. I just remember her legs like parentheses and how she rocked when she walked. -- T.M.
— Aug 31, 2026 10:00AM
Mr. James
is on page 2 of 19
Mary's idea of supper was popcorn and a can of Yoo-Hoo. Hot mashed potatoes and two weenies was like Thanksgiving for me. -- T.M.
— Aug 31, 2026 09:50AM
Mr. James
is starting
We didn't like each other all that much at first, but nobody else wanted to play with us because we weren't real orphans with beautiful dead parents in the sky. We were dumped. Even the New York City Puerto Ricans and the upstate Indians ignored us. -- T.M.
— Aug 31, 2026 09:47AM
Mr. James
is starting
So for the moment it didn't matter that we looked like salt and pepper standing there and that's what the other kids called us sometimes. We were eight years old and got F's all the time. Me because I couldn't remember what I read or what the teacher said. And Roberta because she couldn't read at all and didn't even listen to the teacher. -- T.M.
— Aug 31, 2026 09:43AM
Mr. James
is starting
Note: I'm reading a printed copy and not listening to an audio book, as this edition proclaims. My edition isn't listed and the Librarian Group is occupied with other matters. This edition has the correct page count and the cover is cool. The latter being the most important.
— Aug 31, 2026 03:12AM
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Sep 01, 2026 04:22PM
I can't help imagining a restaurant with fixed prices where the waiters and waitresses are the one who decides who eats what :D
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I think you're on to something. Yet, I imagine an inebriated waiter saying: "I'm bringing you sardines, milk, and bowl of hard candy."
It must exist somewhere! After all, there are restaurants where the staff is rude with their customers on purpose in the USA, so sky's the limit, isn't it! 😄
Correct! I've been there. It's called: The Roadkill Cafe. The staff insults their customers. I don't think it's the best business model. Though I've developed rhino skin over the years, so it was fun to throw it back at them in jest.
I would have loved to be there to watch the flurry of witty retorts and wild counters as it developped 😄 I'm told this business model has been exported to Japan too, where customers pay for the staff to disrespect them as an elaborated joke of sorts! Speaking of which, I'm curious: what is the craziest restaurant or café you visited or patronized so far? I am all ears!
I'm sure you have much more interesting stories regarding restaurants. I traveled pretty extensively for over two decades, but eating was never my passion. I mostly ate in transit, or with locals that took me into their community or home. Those were cherished experiences. However, when I hit the road again, and being more weathered in years, I'm looking forward to indulging in the culinary arts. And you? I'm sure you've tasted or experienced some eccentric dishes or behavior.
Where have you been travelling back then? Where do you intend to travel next?Hmmm, let me see... Concerning local addresses, I have a soft spot for Michel Strogoff, a Russian/Georgian/Caucasian restaurant in Nantes with a marvelous Jules Verne-and-Russia-themed decoration. The all-you-can eat Au Bon Accueil in the vicinity of Nantes has my favours too :)
Now, regarding excentric dishes or behaviour... Hmm, possibly the traditional flower-pot-shaped dessert in a Russian cuisine restaurant in Angers? The local Petit-Beurre tiramisu in another one in Nantes? The duck breast fillet galette served with strawberry and basil sherbet in La Fraiseraie (Pornic) is memorable too!
I have fond memories of the creole restaurant La Marmite, in Saint-Paul (La Réunion island) and a Sukiyaki restaurant in the Pontochō district of Kyōto! ... I truly can't find a horrible experience, can I? :D Well, possibly a roadside café near Paimpont (Brocéliande woods) where the meat tasted like methane ^^'
Your ensemble is impressive, despite my lack of context. I will give your list to a chef; she will, no doubt, delight in researching the places you mentioned.I'm too exhausted at the moment to give a comprehensive list of my travels, but I never got to the far east, so that is on my radar for the next sojourn.
Yummy... methane.
I meant sulphur by the way! Tasty, isn't it? Please enjoy some rest to prepare a remarkable comeback :)