Well, we're back from Florida, for Laura's wedding last Friday, Leap Year Day or as I remember from Lil Abner, Sadie Hawkins Day. The wedding was at 9, very nice, good group of family and friends, back to their place for snacks and Maria's wedding cake, that had two alligators, one with a veil, one with a top hat on it along with a colorful array of candy fruit. Suitable for the couple bound for Florida. At 10:45 they left to catch the train, and by 11:01 I think I was starting to get the flu that Atticus had had all week and that Laura and Michael were going to remember their honeymoon by for at least the first 10 years of marriage. Yes, I've been down with the flu, complete with fever, aches, coughs, etc. Today I'm starting to think I might recover. So I've been on the couch, watching tv and filling a grocery bag with tissues and rubbing Vicks on my chest every few hours. TV during the day is a lot of news, and they put the darnest things on just to keep it going, "Irish bar bans "Danny Boy" for the month of March," "Men who help with the chores get more sex" and "14 year old boy declares California city cuss free for a week". Now that last one got to me. Cussing, especially, when you are sick, is really good for you and probably helps the healing process. I guess today, though, cussing to a 14 year old is mostly the f-word, said in a variety of new ways, such as WTF. My mother swore slightly, but colorfully. Sometimes she would follow it with "excuse my French" which I thought was wonderful. Who would think shit was a French word? My Uncle Ed went to war in 1943, he was only 18 and I was not even one. Bucky (my mother) wrote to both of her brothers at least once a day, often using her Underwood Typewriter and filling both sides of the paper. I have these letters and they are delightful. She often used the s-word and it often had something to do with me. "I have to change the kid's shitty diaper", "I found a feather in the kid's shit today". She probably learned this from my grandmother who was also known to use that word and others as well. One Christmas Eve she went shopping for the tree, sure she would get a bargain so close to Christmas. When the man wouldn't lower the price, they argued back and forth, until Grandma challenged him"Do you know what you can do with these trees after tomorrow? He glared at her and she answered her own question.."Wipe your ass with them!" Last night we were watching PBS, a special on Pete Seeger. Arlo Guthrie was talking about the Clearwater and how Pete knew that people would come to the river to see a sloop once again on the Hudson and realise the toll of pollution. Arlo said the people would see the boat and say, "Oh what a lovely boat. Oh, there's SHIT in the river!". Of course they bleeped out the word, but I laughed so hard I got coughing. Cussing can be creative, in how you arrange the words, select the words, use the words. Years ago we had a friend Mike Stofa who told us his mother always called him Peckerhead, especially when she was upset with him. Once on a school picnic, his mother was chaperone, and things were going well until Mike and some boys climbed a tree. The teacher called their names several times, but no one heard her and then Mike heard "PECKERHEAD" and everyone, teachers, chaperones, all the students were completely silent. His mother just said, sometimes I forget and call him the family name, but he never lived that down. So, cussing has a place in society, whenever I see left over Christmas Trees, or pumpkins after Halloween, I remember Grandma's prediction. My mother often referred to children, her own grandchildren as well, as little shits. I find myself saying, "get the cloth, the little shit spilled the drink" and it feels right and it sounds right. Glad to be back in shitty New York with the f... flu.