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Showing posts from December, 2025

Happy birthday to Abel

He turned one. The doctor gave him five shots. He slept most of the day.

These gifts were more appealing (if less vital):

Cupcakes.

Onesies (i.e. bodysuits).

Wagon, Radio Flyer, plastic, small. For hauling stuffed animals. (Did I mention he walks now?)

Dog, white with black spots, plastic, noise-making, profoundly disturbing to Samuel.

Literature: Fortunately, by Remy Charlip. Not really meant for Abel’s age-group (he doesn’t object). Amusing to Samuel. Mildly disturbing to Daniel. (Both reactions are correct.)

Most of these gifts are from Karin’s dad’s family.

Abel was to have had a little party at my parents’ house, but my mom slipped on some ice and broke her arm. She’ll have surgery later this week. Last night, when I called, she was in high spirits, adequately drugged, surrouded by other progeny.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Another quote about the postman Courtney Elliot, from The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole:
Courtney Elliot has offered to give me private tuition for my ‘O’ levels. It seems he is a Doctor of Philosophy who left academic life after a quarrel in a university common room about the allocation of new chairs. Apparently he was promised a chair and didn’t get it.

It seems a trivial thing to leave a good job for. After all, one chair is very much like another. But then I am an existentialist to whom nothing really matters.

I don’t care which chair I sit in.
I don’t think I would leave a university if I didn’t get a Chair, but I might if I didn’t get a chair. Some intellectuals (e.g., Victor Hugo, Sam the Architect) stand before a desk to work, but I’m not vigorous enough to do that.

Not just any chair would do. I would need a sofa, or at least an armchair from Goodwill.