N was leading me through the steps of a bizarre running-around-the-car-park game, involving two trips around the (imaginary) tree, jumping off a (low) kerb and taking "sip-steps" (whatever they are, but it looked a lot like stamping). All of a sudden, apropos of nothing, she stopped, wagged her finger sternly and said, "Don't give me any answers. Because, you know, I know all the answers."
At two years and nine months, she already values my knowledge and experience as worthless to her. Maybe so, but until she either gets trousers without buttons, or learns how to do them up herself, she still needs me.
Later on, sitting in the car, me in the driver's seat, N on the driver's lap, the engine off (of course) but the CD player going full throttle, she gave me her critical appraisal of my taste in music. "This is very nice, daddy. But I have had enough of Nick Cave now." Yes, he's good, but, as far as N is concerned, he's never going to write anything as good as the song with the la-la-la.
(For those who can't recognise it by that description - "She Called Up", by Crowded House.)
Some time ago, I said to J that I would use the word 'rapscallion' in this blog, at least in part because it is so unfairly underused that, simply by typing 'rapscallion' again, I have probably tripled its usage over the summer of 2008. I was reminded of this intention when I saw it in the wonderful book "The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier & Clay" (which, if there was any justice in the world, would have outsold all the Harry Potter books combined and which every sensible person should immediately buy and devour).
I cannot offer any more context or excuse for inserting the word 'rapscallion' here (again) but, as I am tangentially praising Michael Chabon's book, let me also say what a joy it was to see him referring to flanken, thereby making him only the second person that I am aware of even using the word. The first person (AP) not only used the word, he also used the food to great effect. And many thanks to "Bruce's" of Great Neck was cooking it even though, to a British tourist eye, the portion sizes didn't just border on the insane - they had crossed that border some years ago and never looked back. We ordered a meal for three and at least seven hungry people probably couldn't have made it all the way through the food which arrived. I'm not complaining - it was delicious and the boxed-up left-overs took us through the next three meals.
And, while on the subject of cultural differences, S phoned a hotel in the USA last night and mentioned that she was calling from "abroad". We wondered afterwards whether the word is in as common usage as "a broad" and so whether, in turn, the lady at the reservations desk wondered why S would tell her that she was phoning from a woman. Having just looked up the word on the internet, I discover that such a meaning is usually deemed offensive and can imply a lady of ill-repute. The implications boggle the mind.
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