"lunch at georges" by Bianca Dorso.

A monkey band, memento mori, the place I grew up, essential reading.

A friend said the other day, "I wanted to have a spiritual experience so I'd gain some moral high ground.  Then I'd feel better about judging everyone." 

We could not stop laughing about that.

"The disparity between rich and poor," announced X, "is as bad as it was a hundred years ago."
"To 1904 levels, to be exact," I replied.  Which, though not precisely true, was close enough.