Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Monday's Child is Fair of Face



Born to Tracey Nolan and Jim Clayton of Toronto, a daughter on August 16, 2010, Eileen Agnes Clayton. It looks like the happy couple will get along with their new boss.



Eileen Agnes Clayton

Babies born under the sign of Leo are the happiest children of the Zodiac. They respond positively to love and tenderness. They are blessed with the qualities of nobility, generosity, self-reliance, leadership and magnanimity. They possess an understanding beyond their age, love adventure and are naturally idealistic.



"Lenny"

The Leo child acts from motives of the heart, not the brain and are quickly moved by an emotional appeal. They are better leaders than followers. They are imaginative and quick-tempered, vital and fun to be around.



"Lenny" too

The lucky little girl has been given the middle names of her doting grandmothers. Government forms and teachers may refer to this child as "Eileen", but her parents affectionately call her "Lenny".

Eileen from the Greek means "light". Agnes from the Greek means "pure". Lenny is a form of Leo from the Latin for "brave", also from contemporary television for incessant wisecracker.

Welcome to the world, little one. Your family knows one truism in raising children - there is no such thing as too much love.






Thursday, August 12, 2010

The poet Burns, Ben Franklin and Gandalf



O would some power the giftie gie us to see ourselves as others see us.

Robert Burns



Apparently the healthiest thing about me are my eyes, and even they need help. It is said that Benjamin Franklin invented that rite of passage for the middle-aged, the bifocal, because of his own advancing years. I think that, like me, old Ben was a secret chorister who couldn't juggle looking at both the music and the conductor. It is time.

I was drawn by two pair of frames in the shop. One was bold and black. The other was pretty with crystals or something on the arms. I needed to put on my reading glasses to check it out properly.

First I tried on the bold and the black frames.

"Cool!" I remarked.
The saleslady tilted her head and said "H'mm. Those are very popular now with the..."
"The younger type?" I offered.
"H'mm. The arty type."
"Perfect! I'm the arty type."
The saleslady tiled her head the other way and said "H'mm".
Well, I am, I thought. Anyway, I'm the only one at the laundromat who's working on a novel.

My mind wandered back a few years, to 1984. I had taken my youngest sister Tracey to the Royal Alexandra Theatre to see Ian MacKellan in his show Acting Shakespeare. During intermission we observed the milling throng in the lobby. The well-heeled in pearls and suits sipping their wine. The comfortably dressed yet intense individuals also sipping their wine. I nodded toward the fashion-forward crowd and said "You can certainly pick out the actors in the crowd." My ten year old sister commented, "If you have to dress like one, you probably aren't."

I chose the pretty glasses with the crystals or something on the arms. I don't have to dress like I'm arty, I am arty. Just ask the folks at the laundromat.

PERRY MASON: THE CASE OF THE SAUSALITO SUNRISE

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