Summary

By March of 2001, it had been two years since Sedaris had a drink. He noted his weight at being 132 or 144, depending on which of the scales he weighed himself on was wrong.

While visiting his father, Sedaris began to take note of the changes happening for him. He observed his father drinking coffee from a Rush Limbaugh mug and a displayed thank you card from George Bush and Dick Cheney. When Sedaris’s father asked Sedaris to ride with him to the beach, Sedaris refused, saying that he just could not because of the seats covered in matted dog hair and the bumper sticker that read “Al Gore is A Risky Proposition” on his father’s car (439). He recalled that his father has begun driving like an old person, never exceeding twenty-five miles per hour.

During his book tour, Sedaris worried about the image of...