This news story is for ita. Though it warmed my heart too: [link]

Two would-be robbers tried to mess with the wrong girl Monday night.

The 15-year-old girl was walking down Victoria Road in Dartmouth when two young men approached and one tried to pull her knapsack off her.

Police say the girl, fully trained in jujitsu, punched one of the men in the face, knocking him to the ground. When the second man came at her, she kicked him in the groin and punched him in the shoulder.

Both men ran away without the knapsack.

The girl told police she may have dislocated the second man's shoulder or elbow.

The suspects are described as 17 or 18-year-olds, both wearing puffy jackets with fur on the collar.

ita, are you sneaking into my house and teaching Emeline to say your name? ALL MORNING she was chattering, "ita! ita! ita!"

"Do you want breakfast?"

"ita!"

"Let's get dressed."

"ita!"

What a crack-up she is.

Driveby posting, just to say: HEY, NILLY!

The weird thing about babies (no segue here, so don't bother looking) is...I get the purely biological aspect of it, the eating and the converting to energy and the cells replicating. But how in gods names do you make a consciousness out of the air? Personalities just like that? Fricking weird as hell.

Wrod.

Fred, T's promotion is awesome! Congrats!

A friend told me this about her niece: she was about two years old or so, and was taught to say a blessing before and after eating. So she went to the window, reached out, and said out loud "thank you, G-dy" (as in, using a nick-name to G-d). I love this story - it shows exactly what you're talking about - how it was so natural and obvious for the little girl to say "thank you", lovingly, like to daddy or mommy.

I was taught that the word Jesus uses for "Father" (Abba) when addressing G-d was more like "Daddy" than the formal "Father" it is translated as. When I was a little girl (who's own Daddy was far away) that always made me feel so safe and happy -- and truly made me look at G-d in a different way. (I suppose it could be untrue or anachronistic, but I like the notion to this day.)

Not unsurprisingly, that story made me get misty. And then it made me topple my Fruit Water into my lap (grape, no chemical preservatives), but the cap is on, so no damage is done.

There is (was?) a rogue hugger wandering around Westwood bearhugging chicks from behind and maybe reaching for a boob grope. I pray and pray that he'll get a krav student (it's not that far from the centre) and get the tar beaten out of him.

Aimée, I do have to say it's pleasing to me how damned easy it is for babies to say my name. Fun, even. It makes world domination so much easier.

Fred, congrats indeed on T's promotion and its retroactiveness.

But how am I going to pull off the truth (I walked into a door...) with a straight face?

How about another truth: Car accident. It was a car door, wasn't it? Still, I think you should seize the chance to say you walked into a door, maybe along with an eyeroll. Or use Emeline's answer.

Perhaps I shall explodiate, after all. I called the Illinois Attorney General's office and found out I'd had my IL DL suspended in 1981 for failure to appear on a traffice ticket. Apparently, like murder and the enmity of an ex, tickets have no statute of limitations. The nice man gave me my old license number and transferred me to another place whose recorded message informed that they had too many calls, why don't I call back later.

Wonder what the number is...

Apparently, like murder and the enmity of an ex, tickets have no statute of limitations.

ugh! Something like this happened to a friend here in Maryland because of some kind of ticket she got in Boston when we were in school in the late 80s. Even though she had successfully gotten a license down here and had it renewed several times in the intervening years. She actually ended up with a warrant out for her arrest in MA. So she had to go up there and go to court. It all got settled a couple of years ago but came up again this year when she had to get her license replaced after it was stolen. Due to what turned up to be a clerical mix up the bad Boston stuff was still showing up as not having been settled. It's all good and she's a legally licensed driver and all but UGH!

REALLY hoping your situation is resolved much more easily!

Congrats on T's promotion, Fred! And I'm glad the review went well, Gud.

how am I going to pull off the truth (I walked into a door...) with a straight face?

I love it when the truth sounds like a bad excuse. When my home computer crashed and burned (with actual smoke) last year, my then-roommate was supposed to hand in a paper and lost all her work. She told her professor that she couldn't finish the paper on time due to her wedding that was scheduled right then, so that she wouldn't have to use the "computer crashed" excuse.

Zenkitty, I'm so glad you found this interesting!

Corwood Industries! A drive-by, just for me? I feel all special now. Yay!

I was taught that the word Jesus uses for "Father" (Abba) when addressing G-d was more like "Daddy" than the formal "Father" it is translated as.

Well, it's more like "dad" than the even more endearing "daddy", but you're totally right. And there's a lot in Judaism about simply talking directly to G-d, about the simplest things, the most everyday stuff, so it definitely ties back to what you described.

[Edited to Yay! good news, Fred and Gud.]