Growing up “The Links” were the friends of the family; Mrs. Link had been a high school friend of my aunt, who isn’t really my aunt, for she’s my father’s first cousin, about 11 years older than he, and sort of like an older sister to him, since they were both only children, although her other cousin, Joyce, lived with her for a while after her (Joyce’s) parents died. Or something like that. Thus my “aunt” is really my first cousin, once-removed. And “The Links” are extended family.
They had four kids, 3 sons and 1 daughter, and it’s likely that they grew up with plenty of missing Link jokes, just as a guy I knew, S. Geiger, suffered through Geiger Counter jokes. I once made a Jin Rummy comment to a fellow-student in college. Thereafter I gave up such amazingly unfunny puns. As a kid I grew up hearing Sour Krause far too often.
The thing is … I love sour kraut. Tasty tasty tasty …
… and I like liver and onions.
As for the Links. Again.
In the 6th grade I met a different Mrs. Link, who taught another 6th grade class; when we all went to middle school she did, too, but now as a French teacher, and later I met her son, Jay. He ended up at Borah, not at MHS, but I encountered him from time to time at track and field meets. When we met I was taller; by sophomore year he had an inch on me. I used to be quite self-conscious about my height.
This Link family were cousins to the Links I knew.
Not exactly missing, they weren’t part of the clan we knew, either, and so were never seen at social events.
Now just some links, things I’ve been seeing/reading online:
- St. George’s Day Battenberg Cake: I read Jasper Fforde’s Something Aweful and Battenberg is served all over the place. I think I need to make one.
- NBA Homophobe of the Day: “Straight shooter – ‘Homophobic’ Hardaway says he hates ‘gay people'” … what a fucking asshole. To quote him: “‘You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don’t like gay people and I don’t like to be around gay people,’ he said while a guest on Sports Talk 790 The Ticket. ‘I’m homophobic. I don’t like it. It shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States.'”
- Überraschungstexe: a bunch of German poems and such
- He Cooks. She Stews. It’s Love – the tale of “alpha” and “beta” cooks in the kitchen
- Frank father sent aid pleas to U.S.: “Anne Frank’s father sent desperate letters to friends and family in the United States pleading for financial assistance to help the family escape from the Nazi-occupied Netherlands, according to papers released Wednesday.”
- Lechts und rinks – links und rechts – jetzt – a German blog entry about political alignment(s) that begins with E. Jandl’s famous poem “lichtung”
- Bittman’s No-Knead Bread Phenomenon and No-knead bread takes over the world – pretty pictures of the bread at least
Last night I finished “I” and moved to “J,” which got me part of the way through Jane’s Addiction.
The only song I knew previously was “Jane Says,” and not in the Jane’s Addiction version, either — Jacob’s high school band (with summer break college recording sessions) covered it on their third album or so. The album is about half covers, it seems, and despite the lack of production values, I’m partial to their versions over the originals.
