October 27, 2000

ell, well... what to talk about. I've got many things burbling about in my mind, most of them not really worth the effort to put them into electrons. I was a bit scared the other day to see my brother's post about a classmate of his son's being arrested for possession of cocaine. Robert is 12 now, and that just seems a bit young (or maybe not? Sheesh!) for a person to be addicted to that kind of drug (or any drug). I remember when I was that age, and substance abuse wasn't an possibility in my world, thankfully. I've always been glad that I got the parents I did, and the family I did. We may be a little strange as a group (trust me on this) but we're pretty solid individuals. I do love my nieces and nephews a lot... and wish I could see them more, but time/money to go see them is always at a premium. So, Robert, Allan, Carol, Scott (and the new sprig, who's sex and name are unknown yet, but congrats, sister-of-mine!) if you're reading this... I miss you guys a lot. And I love you, even though I may not call, visit, or write as often as I should.

Speaking of my super smart sister, she called me the other day to tell me that "shoo-fly" pie was pecan pie without the pecans, just the chess. No, not the game of chess...

Chess n. 2: obs. exc. dial. LME [Origin unkn.]

1 A tier, layer, storey; a row. LME.

2 Each of the sections into which an apple etc. may be divided. Sc. L18.

3 In pl. The parallel planks of a pontoon-bridge. E19.

You just have to love the English language (well, OK, any modern language). It is a living, breathing thing, that changes as the needs of society changes. Rife with complexity, enjoyable to use and roll about on your tongue... and always something new to learn. Lets see a show of hands of all of you who knew that the sections of an apple were divided into was a chess? Not me, that's for sure!

Speaking of enjoyment of language, Suz has set me up in a new play-by-mail word game, in which you are presented with 8 letters, and space for a five letter word. You choose your 5 letters from the ring of 8 with replacements dropping into the 8, so you're never quite sure what you will get, and once you've chosen your 5 letters, you get to arrange them into a word. Of course, I didn't bother to read the instructions, so I assumed that I had to pick 5 from the 8. In any case, I was presented at first with not very useful letters... two Js, an H, and some Os, As and Es. It was only sheer luck that I was able to get something good out of it... but this game does look to be quite fascinating, and challenging. Thanks, Suz, for pointing out Kinky Pop ....it will be devilishly interesting, I'm sure!

Finally, I just have to ask... Will Dave Metzener be so defiantly back on Monday? :)