Saturday morning the phone rang and it was my mother :<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You got your printer to work?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dash did it, he talked to the Epson rep for a long time. Followed his instructions and now it prints.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mack must be happy to get his stock portfolio. I could tell by your email that the storm clouds were overhead.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Epson said it was a conflict with OS X.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153But why did it work before? And that means you didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to send the other printer back?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. They said it was fluky, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I wonder what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d do without the Ruthenburgs? Travis, now Dash. I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fly down there and fix it. Funny though, this computer that Mack so hates, yet if that portfolio of his is delayed, look out.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153He wanted me to go into the basement and get the old printer.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Stylewriter… . It still works but uses a different cable. You can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t plug it in to your new computer.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I thought.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
My mother often says, “That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I thought,” when I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thinking, how does she know?<\/i>. She knows so much about so many things but about computers? She shares that sense of mythical mastery with my sister. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dash and I went to Fahrenheit 9\/11.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Did you like it?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oh yeah, but Richard Cohen wrote a scathing review.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Cohen?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153A syndicated Washington Post columnist in our paper.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Far more people loved that movie than did not.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Really?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Peter sounded equally surprised, which confounded me, until I realized it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the internet where I get most of my information.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153When does Matthew leave for Nicaragua? Will my check get there in time?<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Not till next Sunday (this was Saturday and my use of the word next drives some people nuts. Like Diane). You have plenty of time.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Are you nervous?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yeah, nervous and excited. The closer it gets. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stop running into people who look at me as if I should be behind bars. Without them, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be fine.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Well, we have to let him go.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d She said it in the greater letting go way, not the obvious, because, after all, we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to say yes.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dash loved Nicaragua. He thinks he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be fine if Matt stays out of Managua.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Many people say that, and Matt and Hil only pass through, unless they go back on weekends.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That was supposed to be funny but wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, unlike what my sister wrote me, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Tear up his plane ticket and send him to live with us. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll treat him badly, but there will be hospitals nearby.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153How much does he know about the politics of the country?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Too much. He and Hil saw a documentary at Harvard that featured our support of Somoza and our funding of the Contras. There were people in the audience whose families were killed by the Contras. I wish he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know any of that. At sixteen his life should be carefree. But I think this trip could be transformative, like when Peter went to Japan. He found his <\/i> country.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153No, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more like when Peter marched with Father Groppi in Milwaukee at the same age. Do you remember what Brian said before Peter left?
\n\u00c3\u00abDon’t smart off and keep your head down.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153That is funny. That reminds me, how is Ben?”<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s better. His doctor upped his Tegretol.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153About time.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I know. I thought I should do something but I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be responsible for everyone.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yes you can, and you are, and you do and remember, you talked to Diane about his manic episodes. What you have to do is let go.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
To be continued….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Saturday morning the phone rang and it was my mother : \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You got your printer to work?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dash did it, he talked to the Epson rep for a long time. Followed his instructions and now it prints.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mack must be … Continue reading