Mr. Joyce Takes on the World

Temperance (The Cardinal Virtues Part Two) Temperance by Baroque artist Luca Giordano I remember my first hangover. I was twenty-five, and I thought to myself, “This feels like I have a head cold. My face feels all hot and flushed. My nose is stuffed up, and I'm tired. I'm not doing this again.” Less than a month later I did it again, and had the same results. Since then I'd not had a hangover. I have the occasional drink, but never to excess. I guess that makes me an aberration, because in America people pride themselves on how much they can drink, and how drunk they can get. I remember in high school I'd overhear kids brag about how “F—ed up” they were going to get on Friday night. It almost seemed to be a place of pride for them to get so plastered they'd not remember their own zip code.  We all go through that phase when we first start drinking. After a while we learn that drinking isn't about the destination, it's about the j...

An Expensive Virtue (Alms giving) Charity by  Bouguereau About two years ago, myself and a friend were walking down The Embarcadero In San Francisco when a Buddhist monk approached us. He was bald, middle-aged, and Asian. He wore bright orange and yellow robes and dark red sandals. He looked every bit what you'd expect. He immediately slipped a set of beads on my friend's right wrist. He then nodded, and smiled. My friend said, "Thank you." He prepared to walk away when the monk stopped both of us. He then presented me with a set of beads. They were a dark rosewood color, and held together be an elastic band. They reminded me of rosary beads, except these fit in a tight circle around the wrist. The monk then insisted, "YOU PAY NOW!" "How much?" My friend asked. "Twenty!" The monk proclaimed. My friend almost took his beads off rather than pay. Instead, he handed the man a twenty. I did likewis...