Paws, South and furry

Yesterday, Grandpa John got a special birthday present: A card signed by his beloved granddaughter ... with her left hand. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!) Left-handedness, which isn't believed to be strongly genetic but somehow runs in dad's family, proves that Lil' Genghis will be more likely to be out of her right mind.

People who use their left hands are often called Southpaws. Sometimes Southpaws are disparaged; sometimes, as with economics and intelligence, they may be advantaged. Certainly when Lil' Genghis gets her first bullpup rifle we'll have to do modifications. However, when she's writing in Arabic from right-to-left, it'll be easier for her not to blur the lettering. All this is premised on her staying as a Southpaw; not owning a bullpup rifle or not learning Arabic are not really options, naturally.

And now on to the furry paws.


Uncle Joe and Aunt Cady had to watch Cousin Julius fade away last night. Often left in the shadow of his brother Dizzy -- generally acknowledged to be the only feline charged with domestic terrorism -- Julius was always the sweet guy, the cuddler. In her blog, Aunt Cady writes about how Cousin Julius just adopted himself into the family. Part of her touching tribute:

my parents found julius abandoned on their road and, after he ran right up to them and jumped in their car, they brought him to my apartment. my landlords were wary at first, but they soon fell head over heels in love with julius. i’d look outside in the afternoons and see them playing with him. when i moved, they didn’t want him to leave. he was just such an endearing cat.

Julius was preceded in death by a brother, Caesar.