The bulge in your gut’s an embarrassment, but You just can’t decide on which diet to use— The one with all carbs or the no-fats-at-all. You set a date certain by which you must choose. The date has arrived and you’ve not made a start. The fat’s hanging over. Your trousers won’t fit. You do what you promised you’d do in this case: You take out a knife and you slice off a bit.
Calvin TrillinCalvin Trillin is The Nation’s “deadline poet.”