Harry's Ruminations

This morning, my daughter Maria, had a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy at an outpatient surgery center in Lexington. She did very well, considering. She wasn't happy to have all that pain when she awoke. She cried, and I held her in the recovery room as they took the IV out of her left arm. The nurses and staff at the outpatient center were attentive, answering our every question. We took the slow trip back to Georgetown in the Cube (still no van 'til next week), and she dozed lightly with mom keeping her company in the back seat. Since then she's taken her Tylenol 3 (with yummy Codeine) and 2 popsicles.

This year, I was puzzling over the word 'Easter' itself. Doesn't seem to have any religious connection, does it? All the Latin-derived languages borrow from "Pesach," the Hebrew word for passover. Surprise, Easter is named for an Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Spring . Traditionally the goddess Eoastre saved a frozen bird by turning it into a bunny. A bunny who could lay eggs, like a bird. BANG--"Easter Bunny" For me, this Easter has been a real bust. Really, the whole Lenten season, too. Usually, I get into everything from Ash Wednesday through Pentecost--purification, focus on religious life, prayer. This year, it's been a succession of issues: Pregnancy, Mom's cancer returning, ongoing illness in my wife & kids, work, a car accident, dealing with insurance company. This weekend's been the exclamation point on that--missed our Good Friday chorale because of shuttling J, then missed Easter because J's got stomach flu. Three round...

Since March 22nd, my family's been tooling around in a Nissan Cube . Let's be honest: We hate it. We miss our Honda Odyssey and look forward to its return. Heck, this thing makes me yearn for the consistent handling, quiet competence of my 10 year old Toyota Camry. Yep. This brick is Hello Kitty with wheels, and yikes has it overstayed its welcome. For those who don't know, a Nissan Cube is a Nissan Versa with a different body. A Nissan Versa is the smallest Nissan automobile sold in America, featuring a coarse 122 hp 1.8L engine and a Continuously Variable Transmission. Pic of the versa: Beauty is subjective, but I'd say ugly is obvious. How these TWO rolling monstrosities made it past clay models is beyond me. Anywho... So, what you have with the Cube is a box-it-came-in car, with amazing interior space. Let me describe what it's like to drive this car: Imagine driving your patio deck around with an underpowered engine and Satan's own transmissio...