Nobody likes getting a call at three in the morning. Too many bad options.
I heard my cell phone rattling on the nightstand, the night before Thanksgiving. My wife was next to me, but the question remained: What? It’s one of those old clamshell phones. (I cannot figure out Mr. Jobs’ gizmos.) I clawed it open. The message was a photograph of a flower in the frost. It was from Grandchild 3/5. Given the size of this great land of ours, I don’t see 3/5 that often. A message is welcome. I pecked out a response: Where? She has a much faster keyboard than I do. Discovery Park, she replied. You have a good eye, I typed. Thanks, Pop. By now I was actually awake. She had outlasted everybody in her household, residents and visitors, and besides, she is something of a night owl. I thought I would toss out a subtle reminder of the situation. You know it’s 3 AM here. This did not seem to faze her. Yeah, she replied. It’s 12 o’clock here. I liked her style. It reminded me of six years ago when I received a call around 4:30 in the morning from Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, CH KBE, the great runner who was head of the London Olympic Committee for 2012. Lord Coe had come into the office bright and early and asked his assistant to get me on the phone, which she did. He had a lot on his mind. He was abashed, but we conducted business, no problem, and when we finally met in Beijing in 2008, he apologized again. I thought it was very cool to be able to joke with a lord about an early wake-up call. Grandchild 3/5 did not apologize. Time zones or not, she can text me any time. Plus, she has a good eye.
George
George Vecsey
12/3/2013 12:45:44 am
Alan, you are absolutely right. It's a nice relationship. See you Wednesday? GV
Suzanne
12/2/2013 12:15:02 pm
I follow 3/5 on Instagram and I agree, she really does have a great eye for beauty.
George Vecsey
12/3/2013 12:44:09 am
Suzanne: What is this Instagram? G 12/4/2013 08:25:30 am
I think I like this new nickname that seems to be forming: "3/5".
Ed Martin
12/5/2013 05:50:48 am
I was able to post the lovely photo and article on my Facebook newsline, where the link picked up additional admirers. Ciao
George Vecsey
12/5/2013 06:59:35 am
Ed,, thanks, I don't do Facebook but a few of the usual suspects on this site surely do.
Andrew Tansey
12/6/2013 11:25:12 pm
1. Great photo!
George Vecsey
12/7/2013 12:33:28 am
Mr. T, nice to hear from you. 1/9/2014 01:29:44 pm
It is also useful to maintain a back-up US supplier. Comments are closed.
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With the arrival of LED lighting, which costs so little to burn, every house has become an island of illumination, every city a blazing forest fire of artificial light. In my own backyard, it’s hard to enjoy the full moon because so many of our neighbors now leave their lights on all night long. And that’s without the holiday displays, each one bright enough to guide an airplane from the sky and land it safely in the middle of our street. ---Margaret Renkl, The New York Times, Dec. 21, 2022. ttps://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/19/opinion/winter-solstice-dark-light.html Categories
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