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Posted by John Nichols on September 10, 2003 at 22:05:15 from 165.91.196.181 user Mcneacail.

In Reply to: Re: Travellor & sail controls posted by Ross Cossar on September 10, 2003 at 21:25:11:

Re: Dying of old age.

Once upon a time I was standing waiting to get on a bus, I was to chaperone four children on a school excursion. Year 3 children, one was my eldest daughter.

The Deputy Principal of the school had a son in the class and her son was one of the four children I had to look after on the trip. We were the last to get on the bus, and the Deputy Principal was hugging her son and crying (I kid you not). It was embarrassing. I thought of Roger and how his mother let them do things without getting maudlin - then I looked the child and said

"Don't worry she will be dead one day and will not embarrass you anymore"

The comment on metric brought back this old story.

And yes she never talked to me for a long time.

About three years later I was sitting in a very small room in the Pittsbugh airport. I was waiting to board a plane for Illinois. It had been a long day, I had to give a guest lecture with 1 hours notice, and I was tired.

The young couple sitting next to me were talking about her father. I listened (I could not help they were talking so loud) as the son-in-law complained about everything the Father in law had done for him over the weekend. They had gone to golf, then to a baseball match and then to the pub. The wife had spent quality time with her mother.

I could see in my minds eye Titty and Roger listening to the shop keeper in SW and then running from the room. Fortunately I am much older and do not have to be as polite. I could see the mother-in-law saying to the Husabnd - you are going to give the son-in-law a good time whilst he is here and so he did. I bet the SIL was a real fun chap to take to all those places, but it sounded like the FIL had tried his best to be nice.

When they had been going for about 20 minutes I finally could stand it no longer and I leaned over and said.

"It will be alright one day"

The two people looked at me and said "What do you mean?"

I said 'Well your father-in-law will be dead one day and you will have nothing to complain about, then you will be happy'.
She said "that is nasty"
I said "no nastier than what you are saying about your father and what he did for you over the weekend"

They left - I could go back to my book.

Roger lives sometimes in our hearts.



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