Last night was Mom's revolution-themed birthday party. We had about 25 people in our back yard, chatting and listening to Motown from five until midnight. It was a great group and the food (and cake!) were delicious, but the best part for me was an impromptu, unexpected, belated gift.
Apparently my French godfathers gave me a condom when I was three or four, seeing it as their godfatherly duty to keep me safe in the Frenchest way possible. My dad put it away for safekeeping. This story came out over the course of the evening (we talk about condoms over dinner at our house...what do you talk about?) and Dad suddenly leaped up from the table, rushed into the house, and emerged about three minutes later with this:



So yeah. Not having gotten to know my godfathers as an adult is one of the things I regret most, so suddenly learning a new story (when I thought I had heard all the stories) and sitting there in my back yard with something in my hand proving the story was true meant a lot.

Day 26: Most Despicable Character

I thought this one would be hard. It's actually quite easy.


Ronald Merrick is the biggest sleaze ever (despite his unfortunate self-hate and missing arm, I only felt about three seconds of sympathy for him over the many, many hours I spent reading this (excellent!) four-book series.