June 19

OK.  A few days ago I said the answer to the cosmic significance of US routes 422 and 224 running together was '42.'  "What the ..." I hear you cry.  Well, see, 422 and 224 together form a numerical palindrome, 422224, that begins with 42 both coming and going.  This much is obvious and is kind of cool all by itself.  Even more cool, is that in "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," Douglas Adams has a super computer (I think I have that right) disclose that the fundamental answer to everything is "42."  So, see, it is all cosmic and literary and participates to a high degree in the Platonic Form of Very Coolness.

Tad loaned me a short book I just finished entitled "The Buried Book."  It is about the rediscovery and translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh in the 19th century, 2500 years after it was lost.  Very good, if you at all like that sort of thing.  It also has fine analysis of the epic itself.  I'd never heard of the book until Tad loaned it to me.  I mention it on the theory it is not widely known, but should be.

I'm having trouble using my smart phone's mobile hotspot to access the vastness of the interwebs.  It turns on, but then immediately turns off again on its own.  I also had an e-mail to a friend in Canada rejected by her server.  And I am having a little trouble viewing my own blog on my IPad though I can access it on my smart phone perfectly well.  Technology is wonderful, but it is also a - how can I put this delicately? - pain in the ass.

Tad and Carol gave me permission to recount a few stories about an older relative, hitherto unidentified and who shall remain so.  He complained about having to go for his "prostrate" exam.  I imagine this is not uncommon.  Less common is the fact that the gentleman also had "double ammonia."  That's ammonia in both lungs.  He felt this was not nearly as bad as the poor woman who had breast cancer and who had to have a double vasectomy.  He had an irascible side, too.  Once, Carol took him someplace on a beautiful day, not too hot, certainly not cold, with blue sky and a few fleecy white clouds drifting through it.  She commented on how nice the day was as they exited the car.  But he was just irritated with all "those goddamn white clouds."  Sounds to me like a unique character.

One more story concerning a different person.  Tad hadn't seen this person for some years and took a trip to visit him.  Tad walks into the room, the object of his visit looks up and in an alcohol induced fog wheezes, "Tad.  Don't eat anything bigger than your head."  This was mighty unexpected but is fine advice when you stop to ponder it.

I write this at dawn, a multitude of birds singing away in the thick woods surrounding the house on three sides.  A woodpecker is hammering away, too.  Tad and Carol tell me there are five species of woodpecker around here.  Westerners forget just how lush, green and alive the eastern part of the country is.

Went to the Verizon store and they told me how to fix my wireless hotspot feature on the semi-smart phone.  Can read my own blog jes' fine now, too.

I begin to feel up to moving on and sparing Tad and Carol more of my convalescence.  Back is still tight though, and the food is still good.