Stages on life's way …

… Anecdotal Evidence: 'This Isn’t Just a Walking Stick'. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

It’s a cane, not a walking stick. This is no late-life conversion to dandyism. I can hardly walk without it. My vanity isn’t wounded. It’s a tool (or a weapon), like a hammer, and gets the job done.

I have a collection of walking sticks and have had for many years. Now, I like to say of the one I use the most, that it used to be a fashion statement, but is now a utility. That particular one I got in Kinsale, in Ireland, when I was on assignment for the centenary of Bloomsday. It  is an ash stick, very much like the one Joyce (and Stephen Daedalus) sported. Interesting to learn that Patrick is a Celtic-Polish mix. So am I.