"Never Mind the Why or Wherefore!"

Today my younger daughter is shadowing at the Hartford Magnet Middle School, a.k.a., the Hartford Middle Magnet or simply HMMS.

Now when I hear HMMS, I can't help thinking that it sounds either vaguely like the acronym for some Catholic high school or, even more so, like the title of that beloved Gilbert and Sullivan operetta H.M.S. Pinafore, which is the reason I shall henceforth refer to said middle school simply as "Pinafore."

I've been one poor correspondent...

...I've been too, too hard to find/but it doesn't mean you ain't been on my mind.

Since I last posted, due to an unscheduled hiatus brought about by 1) computer problems and 2) a flurry of activity:

1) Pirates are back in the news (too bad the ship's captain didn't think to claim they were all orphans --- it works in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas);
2) Ted Turner personally advised my 13-year-old daughter to think "clean renewable energy;"
3) I spoke about Sinatra to ~100 women at the New Britain's Womens Club;
4) I spoke about writing, Sinatra, and Ava Gardner at the day-long Tunxis Community College Writers' Festival;
5) I've gotten even more jealous of Gina Barreca, the keynote speaker at the Tunxis Writers' Festival;
6) I resigned my spot on the Board of Directors of the New Britain Symphony Orchestra;
7) My mother-in-law completed a bracket for our little in-house NCAA bet and actually picked North Carolina to win the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship in a final against Michigan State (she could've made a fortune in a real pool!);
8) I finally beat my wife in three straight games of Ping Pong;
9) Tiger Woods did not win the Masters; and
10) The Cincinnati Reds are only 2-3.