Sounds Good

New Year’s is optimists’ favorite season
My glass is always at least half full, and I’m still shopping for the most stylish set of rose-colored glasses.
I never realized I was such an optimist until people kept telling me so.
“Oh, Darragh’s so cheerful in the morning,” they’d say. Or, “You’re always smiling.”
I thought everyone was like that. But even grumpy folks like wishing people a Happy New Year. They say it all week, and I’m sure they mean it. I wish they’d carry on those happy thoughts a little longer.
In Port Arthur, we do have the Mardi Gras season on its way that promotes lots of goodwill toward masked men and costumed ladies.
I have to think of columnist and grand dame Martha “Toodlum” Ferguson and how she’d write “I love you, Port Arthur, and everyone in it.”
I feel the same way, and I meet more Mid-County residents every week. After 20 years here, you’d think I’d have met them all, but it is my privilege every week to meet more.
Happy New Year to you all.

Good eats
My family has a holiday tradition of meeting me for an Asian lunch during the holidays. We tried and loved the new Ichiban Japanese hibachi and sushi bar at Jefferson City.
It has been remodeled since it was Moon Palace. It looks nice, you can watch sushi being made and you don’t have to eat sushi. There are plenty of kitchen dishes such as beef, chicken, salmon or shrimp teriyaki.
We were adventurous with lunch bento boxes and loved it. The only thing is, my daughter and I really, really want to eat all our meals out of lovely sectional red boxes. We especially loved the tiny area in the middle for wasabi and pickled ginger.
ddoiron@panews.com