On Excess

[Ashley A.]

A few years ago, in a little bar and grill in Charleston, SC, whilst escaping the swelter by sipping a refreshing glass of Sauvignon Blanc, I saw this bumper sticker slapped up on the wall: Excess in Moderation. Oooh. Excess in moderation... I like that. You see, I’m quite a fan of a little excess now and then. More is more, as my mom and Meryl Streep like to say. If a little of something is good, then a lot of it must be very good. You should see my Christmas tree.

Salt. Butter. Cream. Bacon. Sunshine. Oysters. Pink Champagne. Cashmere. Chocolate sea salt caramels. Foie gras. Good books, music and art. George Clooney. See what I mean? Would you really want “only a little” of any of these things? I like decadence. In abundance.

One of the fun things about my job is that, since I work for a wholesaler, I get to sell things in nice, big quantities. It is deeply satisfying to put in orders for one hundred and fifty customized Pulltap’s corkscrews. Forty-eight Big Red Wine Glasses. Two dozen Show Stoppers. Seventy-two Haley’s Corkers. One hundred Italian Flip Top Stoppers. Thirty-six Afterglow bottle wicks.

As a writer, I’ve got some poems that I’m pretty proud of. Ninety-nine words here. Two hundred and eight words there. I’ve written some good editorials and essays. Six hundred and thirty… seven hundred and seventy-six… nine hundred and forty-two words. But what I love – love! – is writing a novel. It’s quite thrilling to have a book that is complete at sixty thousand, two hundred and twelve words.

I like big numbers. They make me happy. I’m serious. There are five kids in my house. More is more.

And now we get to embrace another big number: 2010. Twenty-ten! Can you believe it? A brand new year. A brand new decade. So much potential. So much promise. I’m looking forward to this New Year. May it be full of joy and success for all of us – in a very BIG way.

A

my day job blog: http://www.forwinelovers.blogspot.com

[Ryan]

I've seen a sticker that said, "Everything in moderation including moderation"

[Ashley A.]

I've seen that one, too. I like the other one better though!