[lit-ideas] Value families

(No - not a thesis employing Venn diagrams to illustrate particular aspects of Value Theory.)
I'm glad to see that family relationships still retain some value in the 21st century. That said relationships are strained by certain aspects of life in the Third Millennium, and that this strain is only partially alleviated by the new communication technologies available to us, is amply illustrated in a couple of lines (part of a conversation a woman is having, via mobile phone, with her brother) from Ian Rankin's latest - THE COMPLAINTS:
'I was sorry we didn't get the chance to catch up over Christmas. Did I thank you for the flowers?' 

'You sent a text at Hogmanay, wished me a Gappy New Year.'

Chris Bruce,
resolving to be careful this festive season with the
tiny buttons on his various communication devices
when expressing to geographically distant relatives
the inestimable value of familial relationships, in
Kiel, Germany
--
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html

Other related posts: