It’s Friday—already? There is nothing new on my end, so I’ll fill in with a soupçon of history. In this day in 1940 the Disney film Fantasia opened, and in 1956 the U.S. Supreme Court declared that segregation on buses was illegal, ending the Montgomery, Alabama bus strike began by Rosa Parks the previous year. Also on this day in 1940, the philosopher Saul Kripke was born. I remember sitting next to him on the couch at Rockefeller University, watching on television the 1972 election returns that brought Richard Nixon back to office. Like all of us, Kripke was upset, and rocked back and forth on the couch, like a praying Jew davening. And, in 1924, the population geneticist Motoo Kimura was born, and died on this same day in 1994—on precisely his 70th birthday. Finally, in 1945, Neil Young was one day old. Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili and Cyrus are posing cutely on the couch.
Hili: I have a feeling I’ve seen a picture like this somewhere.
A: Where?
Hili: In a photo album. It was a picture of your grandparents.
When I asked Malgorzata to explain this dialogue, she said this:
If you try to remember old family photos with an elderly couple sitting stiffly and staring into the camera, you will see a striking resembance of Cyrus and Hili sitting stiffly on the sofa and staring into the camera. Hili looked at this picture of herself and Cyrus and was reminded of the photo of Andrzej’s grandparents in the same pose.
In Polish:
Hili: Mam wrażenie, że gdzieś już widziałam takie zdjęcie.
Ja: Gdzie?
Hili: W albumie, to było zdjęcie twoich dziadków.
Although Leon’s staff is getting married, I’ve learned that Leon will not be at the nuptials: Malgorzata reports: “Leon will not be at the wedding ceremony because he is frightened when there are many people. They do not want to stress him.” But we do have a new Leon monologue:
Leon: Another mushroom and not one mouse!
Both Cyrus and Hili look extremely suspicious of the motives of the photographer.
Of course they are wary. They know full well cats are sometimes taken advantage of by internet photographers. In this case I believe they give their consent and have signed releases in perpetuity. Remuneration comes in the form of noms.
Leon can’t go to the wedding because he is not properly dressed. He is not a tuxedo cat.
Nothing that a couple of cans of paint and a chain mail glove couldn’t solve.
Youtube, don’t fail me!
No, that’s not what I meant.
That’s more like it. From the caption, “Tigers, Leopards, Lynx….BIG CATS like to paint too! Using non toxic, children’s finger paints the cats had grr-eat fun creating purr-fect paintings we will auction off at our annual fundraiser the “Fur Ball”
Actually, I’ll pull the link and send it to PCCE for Caturday.
Hili and Cyrus could be something out of Rockwell.
Your distress over the 1972 election was short lived anyway. In about 1.5 years from inauguration he was gone. Of course you did not know that at election time.
My best friend at primary school at the time Nixon resigned was a USian. Our class (mainly 10 yo – year 6) listened to his speech live (I think) the radio. She was in tears and inconsolable. I was completely bemused that someone would cry in such circumstances. I asked my teacher about it. He just said that Americans feel differently about the presidency than we do about our leaders, but I don’t think he was very sure either. I’ve always wondered about her response.
Well, a lot of us were cheering!
I guess the only time I’ve ever cried about a President was when Kennedy was shot.
I was still a couple of weeks away from escaping the womb when that happened. 🙂
I’m guessing you weren’t crying, then. 😉
Sorry Leon won’t be able to make it, but I certainly understand about how he might not be so happy around crowds of strangers.
…but he will be going on the honeymoon, right?
b&