Sorry I've been so late and/or absent for the past few days. I've been rushing out of the house for early-morning appointments, working to get all the picky little stuff done (haircuts, oil changes, etc., etc.) before I leave for Franconia on Saturday . . . and also working to organize my son, who will be heading off to a six-week summer theater program on Sunday, and who will not remember what he ought to remember to pack, unless I remember it for him before I leave.

Satirical Ode for a Sloppy Teenager

There once was a young man from France
Who neglected to water his plants.
One day, in a quandary,
He mistook them for laundry
And wore them instead of his pants.