diff --git a/src/main/java/EPLHelpers.java b/src/main/java/EPLHelpers.java
index fd3b6ae..ac40a71 100644
--- a/src/main/java/EPLHelpers.java
+++ b/src/main/java/EPLHelpers.java
@@ -8,10 +8,14 @@ public class EPLHelpers {
     final static Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(EPLHelpers.class);
 
 
+    /** Return the hour of the day for the given date. */
     public static int getHour(DateTime date) {
         return date.getHourOfDay();
     }
 
+    /** A simple toString() wrapper for use in epl. */
+    public static String str(Object o) { return o.toString(); }
+
     /**
      * Compare two times and return true if the first is earlier than
      * the second.