Hmmm, this blog may be interesting....

My year of flossing:

I flossed again last night.

I'm still waiting for that sense of ambient smugness (my loose translation here of arete, at least as it relates to the Artistotelian aspects of oral hygiene) that usually accompanies my occasional forays into a life of virtue. I think back here to my days spent as a jogger of sorts in the early 1990's, days well remembered by some friends of mine if only for the gaily-colored yellow tights I would don before pounding up and down the streets of Sunnyvale, Calif. (In fact to this day the cognomen "Bananaman" is still thrown up in my face by some whenever I undertake a new exercise regimen.)

But at least the entwined senses of virtuous persecution and moral superiority were a wonderful relish to the less tangible benefits of sore knees and clownish apparel, all of which raises of course the question of whether a life lived in accordance with the dictates of smugness may be led in any way other than in relationship to the perceived failings of others. But persecution for my flossing has been so far minimal, and I am loathe to inquire too closely into the state of my neighbors' gums.

("Neighbors" is here used broadly in the whole Luke 10:25-37 sense, lest folks on the block feel the need to spend their time in my presence with their jaws clamped shut.)

Now THAT'S a niche blog if I ever saw one! Yet fun so far anyway.