The prodigal blogger returns

[bironic]

Back from grandparents' house. Had a nice time. We ate a lot and sat around and chatted and napped and read (with the plane rides and siestas, I got through one Discover magazine and 3/4 of Ursula K. LeGuin's The Dispossessed). They were so happy to see us, so appreciative of our company in addition to everything we did for and with them (e.g. run

Comments

[nightdog_barks]

You're back! Yay!

Sounds like a wonderful trip. Old folks tell great stories, for anyone who has the patience to listen. I still remember one of my elderly uncles telling me a story he'd heard from his father about how when they were crossing the Oklahoma Territory the Comanches (or Kiowa, or whatever) were raiding again ("and kidnapping white babies!" -- oh, the horror) and so they hid the youngest child -- a baby girl -- in a huge iron coffeepot. Hee.

The Dispossessed is a great book -- one of my favorites of all time.

... and, strangely, goldfish.

Heh heh heh.

[bironic]

Yay! It was a good trip. They do have good stories; we're used to hearing about our dad's and uncle's exploits and tales of things we did together when we were growing up, and they always have something fascinating to say about what it was like growing up in the '20s and '30s, relatives who emigrated from Russia and Europe, relatives who fought in and got caught it wars, her job as a civil service worker and his as a bookbinder, trips they took (they've traveled all over the world), etc. Our great-aunt's tales were a real treat this time because we'd never heard anything about our grandfather being a troublemaker before -- though maybe we should have suspected, since he's infamous for being a jokester. He's strong evidence that lifelong good humor makes for healthy longevity.

The Dispossessed is a great book -- one of my favorites of all time.I remember you saying that when I posted pictures of my bookshelves. Finally did get around to reading it. It's excellent so far; beautiful language, fascinating characters and connections. I'm

[roga]

I have a fascination with all things grandparently, and you have just explained it perfectly.

Also, your description of The Dispossessed has officially whetted my appetite.

And last, thank you for the emo Wraith link :-)

[bironic]

Hee! Aren't those poems brilliant? I love fandom so much sometimes.

The Dispossessed is really wonderful and thought-provoking. There's a capitalist planet and a communist planet -- though that's greatly simplifying things -- and there's a Simultaneity theory and a Sequency theory, and the main character, a theoretical physicist (heh), is trying single-handedly to unite both pairs at the same time with seemingly no-one on his side. I love everything I've read of Le Guin's (though admittedly it's only been about three books), and this one -- which won a Nebula, I believe -- is no exception. Recommended, definitely.

Grandparents are awesome. Well, sadly, that's not always true, but ours are really amazing (it's my dad's mother and stepfather), and your grandmother sounds fascinating too, full of stories and opinions. I wish I knew what questions to ask them to uncover more. There's a sense of urgency there, too, you know? however faint, that time is running out and we need to ask and listen while we can.

[bironic]

p.s. Dreamt one of the nights that I was watching a fic you'd written in which Ronon bottomed. Blame the fic-reading withdrawal.

Hm. I don't have a Ronon icon.