Stocking Up on Tissues

It is 99 degrees here in LA today, and I have managed to come down with a cold.

It seems absurd to be sneezing and blowing my nose when the temperature of the air outside is actually hotter than that of my body. Even if it's only by 0.4 degrees.

Between the heat and the cold, I've got two good reasons to stay indoors this afternoon. If you add central air and DirecTV, that's four.

And the pace here is so much slower that it feels natural to be whiling away the hours instead of compulsively DOING THINGS.

Other than sniffling.

Fathers/Daze

Today was my first fatherless Father's Day.

We are in such an unsettled state that the holiday, such as it is, passed without much ado. But it dawned on me that having lost my dad, and Zach's dad, and the only grandfather I ever knew, I won't have cause to celebrate Father's Day again until Zach and I become parents ourselves.

And that just reminded me that any children we have will never know their grandfathers—at least not firsthand.

My dad carried that same sadness with him for more than 50 years, from the time his own father died.

Now it is mine to bear.

Do Not Adjust Your Set

Hello. Zachary checking in.

I'm pinch-hitting because it's been a while since anything has appeared here.

Rest assured all is well. We're just in the middle of the transition to LA, and internet access has been sparse at best.

Your regularly scheduled blog author will be returning shortly to share her impressions. Just didn't want you to think we'd gone away.

Okay, we actually have gone away, from Brooklyn anyway, but not from cyberland.

Talk to you soon!

Lingering Question

From the top of my degree:

"To all persons to whom these presents may come greeting. . . ."

What in the world does that mean?