On such a day my computer chooses to act up, swallowing a long post
like beer from Erin's yard. How random.
Lulu Lloyd was a real person. All teachers had such nicknames--Beaky
Beckwith, Bug Williamson... His joke about the bush telegraph--read
"telephone" game in the U.S.--was that a commander sent a message,
"Send reinforcements, going to advance," which when passed up the
chain of command became, "Send three and fourpence, going to a
dance." This was back in the days when pence were d's and not p's.
The rest of the references are meant to make you think of those
moments when you stare into space and the memory chest suddenly
opens. I could tell you what they all mean to me, but what would be
the point? The person being addressed is my number two daughter.
People her age use "random" in two ways; one we recognize, and which
lays emphasis on composition, and another which means something like,
"This is difficult to comprehend." Thus you may hear a student say
that Henry James is "really random."
David Savory is the one with the baby. He probably still lives a few
streets away from Straker's front porch, where in the photo you see
the two of us discussing matters of great import. Straker was in his
favorite Yankee Stadium seat, holding forth.
David Ritchie Portland, Oregon ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
