h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Your grandfather's dubious distant relationship to Queen Victoria??? what??? .... Hyp luvvy .. I must know more .. immediately ....

....details .. I need details .. ...told to me Hyp-style .. of course ... Hyp Isness (see below) ....

...I shall bribe you with slices of blueberry pie ... which I can't cook ...but Phreddy can ..... .....and probably you can .. .... I am a late runner when it comes to cooking .. .. a very late runner ... but I can cook jacket potatoes ... hmm ... and salad .. I can cook salad ...





ah the Phredster writings ... even your recipes are imbued with the Firecloud Isness ...

Chris has this theory that everyone has their own personal and individual Isness .. that shines through the things they do and say and write etc. ....

I know what he means in fact .... for once I understand what he's talking about ... Chris that is .. .... ....

he sends his love to everyone ..



lists! lists! I must make lists! its my new artform ....I just realised ..... this very minute .. I intend to start with a list ... that might lead to a list within a list .. or maybe a ghost of a story ... or maybe a dream .. or maybe a realisation or an Isness or a Question Mark .....

or a plate of blueberry pie ....



s'cuse me ... I must print a panda .. I need a panda ....


Panda Isness

Phred, you're back in Arkieland! If you enjoy blueberry pie, then you should enjoy the native huckleberries. They have a bit more tartness which makes them better, imho, than the tame blueberries.

Helen, my grandfather's relationship to Queen Victoria is dubious indeed. My mother's father, according to family lore, was descended from Prince Edward Augustus, who was King George III's fourth son and the father of Victoria Regina. He was the Duke of Kent, among other things. So, he supposedly fathered a son, my great-great grandfather, on the wrong side of the blanket and this son took the surname of Kent rather than using his mother's surname. When he died without a legitimate male heir, the title died with him.And that is how England got a queen rather than a king.

It's a nice tale, but I've always doubted it's veracity. I had the address in London where my great grandfather was born and decided to try and find it. So this would have been a generation removed - the son of the supposed bastard son. Unfortunately, the house is gone, destroyed during the blitz along with the other houses on that block. A soccer field is in that location now. But you can tell that it was a nice neighborhood, within easy walking distance of the palace. What that actually means, I don't know.

British princes were notorious for fathering illegitimate children. I suspect many have claimed royal lineage, knowing there is no way to prove or disprove it. In spite of my own skepticism, I have always had a fondness for Queen Victoria, just in case I am truly shirttail kin. If the story is true, she was my great-great aunt. I think I have the appropriate number of greats. It is all a bit confusing.

What an amazing story! .. now I am really glad I know you .. heheheh wink wink .. in fact I think I will follow you through your lineage ... heheheh ... who needs novels eh? ..



what a delicious piece of story telling! .. I love it ... and your turn of phrase .. .. .. I never heard these phrases before ...

.. thanks luv for such details and artistry ... ... and taking the time to write it up for me ...



Leonard Cohen has a poem set to music entitled Queen Victoria .. I love it ... it starts something like <<>>> (quote .. hopefully not misquote ... Leonard Cohen) ...

Helen, here is the story about my mother and the Queen.

F96827?thread=7737126?thread=&post=100344996#p100344996

Gotcha kid. I went there. Amazing. And thanks for your brill email .. I'm onto emails next week .... ...

And thanks also Phreddy for your brill email ... I'm onto emails next week.... ..

I've decided its h2 or emails ... ...I'm too slow to multitask ... have to alternate ...one week h2 one week emails ... I'm addicted to both ... ....



Here's a thought for the weekend..... my brother in law emailed to say that he just got stung on the shoulder by a four-inch long hornet (and he doesn't exaggerate ... ) .... it climbed inside his shirt while he was working outside .. in a graveyard to be precise .. but he's OK ... ... the brother in law that is .. not sure about the hornet .... I wonder if hornets die after they have stung .. like bees .....

Goodnight world. Till next week ...

Major Lassitude

The Queen and Hypatia’s Mom would probably get along well they are both of a time and place that share similar values.

I’m in a slump. It might be the result of pushing though so many States, Provinces and countries in the last five months. I play three sets of tennis with Mrs. Phred…The Mountain Home grandmothers invite us again to play doubles with them Monday, Wednesday or Friday from 8am to 9:30...This morning Mrs. Phred complained of a backache so we skip the tennis.

Paul has given me the keys to the “Ratty Bastard” pontoon boat. The lake temperature is fine, but instead of exploring the lake, I raid his bookshelf and spend the days vegetating and reading novels.

I don’t even want exert energy to cook dinner. Mrs. Phred goes out and buys birthday cards for the three grandchildren with September birthdays. She addresses the cards, writes checks and includes poetic inscription…My job is to sign “ZaZa”…that is a bastardized form of my real grandfather name, “Zada” which means Jewish grandfather…

One of my odd dreams is that I need to requalify for military service with 35 push ups, which puts me in a panic mode…then I awaken and realize that the military does not recruit 67 year old navigators….

We’ll be here in this lovely Army Corps of Engineers campground on Lake Norfork until the 13th of September. Since we are over 62, we get a 50% break on the camping fee…$8 a night is a real improvement on the $30-$50 fees we have been paying the last five months.

The engineers have left us with a large supply of free firewood. I’m not to lazy to build a campfire...

Xantief...This fires for you...over...

Phred, you're in a lovely spot to unwind. Especially with the seasons about to change.

I'm glad to know that you're still playing tennis. I've always thought I'd enjoy it. I took a tennis class as part of my PE requirement for my BA. I haven't played since. None of my friends or family was ever interested in playing.

So, where are you heading after the 13th? Back east?

Xantief, have you disappeared on us again?

And has anyone heard from or about Spy? Such a nice man. I hope he's well and happy.

Spy (Spynxx) was an interesting young man. I got the impression from conversations with him that he was having marital difficulties when he drove down to see you on his Harley...part of the problem, I gathered, was the time he spent on the internet in general and H2G2 in particular...So the bad sunburn wasn't the only thing he was dealing with...he's moved on...my guess is it didn't work out from him....to be jealous of a benign internet site perhaps indicates an unworkable level of immaturity...

On the 13th we are going to the Petite Jean State Park in Arkansas...

Mrs. Phred has several social networking sites that are largely populated by women who like to travel in Recreational Vehicles...Most of them do this alone, although a few travel with their DH (Dear Husbands)...When Mrs. Phred began to refer to me that way, I insisted that she refer to me as TGM (The Great Man).

On the 13th about 15 of Mrs. Phred's online friends with gather for what they call a GTG (Get together).

It appears unlikely now that I will be able to deliver that blueberry pie, but there is always next year...

How many thanksgivings now has the main toast over turkey been, "Next year in Jerusulam!" ?

There you have it...

Next year in Webb City!

Next year in Vacaville!

Next year in Dartington!

Next year...next year...

Give me grace...Give me another year...

... yuh ... and I promised to get Chris to Vegas (and on to Sedona) by next year .. before he turns 60 ... and I don't think that will happen either .... .... hmm

but quote Shakespeare ..? Julius Caesar ? (I think) hmm

we shall meet again! or for the first time! or maybe not at all .. but nevertheless we shall all go forth and continue to be exceptionally interesting ...

If you go to Las Vegas. I have a great 2,200 mile circle tour you can do in 2-4 weeks....14 stops....the steering wheels are on the wrong side...

We're thinking maybe a trip though the grand canyon from Lees ferry to Lake Mead this summer...

My fellow and I were just talking about making a trip to Vegas. Not to gamble, since that doesn't interest either one of us. To just see it and take in some of the shows.

This site did seem to be causing Spy some difficulties at home. Living with a jealous, suspicious spouse must be hell on wheels. I don't think I could handle it.

Well, fiddlesticks. It would have been nice to see you and Mrs. Phred. Perhaps the next time you visit Mountain Home, then.

I was feeling so good to have avoided the necessity of a Labor Day cookout. Well, Brother phoned to say he's coming down for a few days this week, so I'm going to have to fire up the smoker anyway. I'll take Thursday off work and smoke a brisket. The cousins are already invited.

Dreams, dude! I am dreaming constantly of bases I've never visited, for reasons I never recognized, ... in sum, I always find myself wandering around, usually indoors, seeking either my car or a pissoir.

It's now Friday PM, and these days I'm quite under the influence of beer, and I wonder greatly at my sufficiency of presence here. I may anticipate my Saturday-morning mysticism somewhat, but I latched onto a profundity, what Dan Dennett might call a "deepity", to wit:

If the sons of an old fart conspire to drag the old fart to a Zappa Plays Zappa concert, the old fart must have succeeded!

Hypatia, I have not disappeared, I am merely very slow.

Thanks.

A bonehead in Gainesville made the news lately by announcing a Barbe-Quran, which was unanimously discouraged as A Very Stupid Thing To Do.

Just today I learned that a Muslim mob in the troubled province of Jammu and Kashmir, in retaliation to this outrage, pillaged and torched a school that was established by Christian Europeans over a century ago.

The school's library was torched as well, of course.

Seeing as how the student body was 100% Muslim, one wonders how many Qurans went up in smoke.

The embers are stone-cold...empty beer cans litter the clearing...possum droppings are everywhere...

Good heavens!!!! Its the campfire scripts!!! The embers might be cold, but the evidence is red hot. Its right here.We were there. How amazing!

Do you ever hear from Xantief?

As far as I know, Steve is still into nude kayaking out in California...good way to ensure social distancing...but basicalliy...no.