OK, my mind’s all over today; it’s unlikely I’ll keep anything on topic. Do any of you (dear readers) subscribe to The American Prospect? If so, would you mind dropping me an e-mail at

hermitsrock [at] gmail [dot] com?

by greg—Apr 3, 03:25 PM

one of my favorite pictures of my dad is from when he had mumps as a kid. that’s probably a really insensitive thing to say, huh?

by mary—Apr 3, 08:41 PM

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pic of any of my family mumped. In fact, the only knowledge I have of any of my parents having been ill is that I know my dad had the pox when he was a boy. That’s all.

I must admit that I’m not that worried about them, in spite of the fact we’re in epidemic mode, except for two things: 1) I don’t need to be highly contagious come the end of this month for interview reasons; and 2) _{mumps can cause swollen testicles.} Normally, I’d say #2 is way more freaky, but frankly, I must say they’re equally bad right now.

by greg—Apr 3, 08:49 PM

that my dad’s parents thought it was a good idea to take a photo of him with mumps probably tells you something. not sure what.

by mary—Apr 4, 12:15 PM

I agree it takes a real mischievous streak to take a sickbed photo of your kid. There’s a saving-for-posterity, sure, but more than that, there’s also somewhere no small desire to embarrass, or at least, to laugh privately at the ways disease puts the young and healthy on par with the old and infirm.

Then again, it also makes for a memorable photo, I bet.

Non sequitur: In the realm of other things my grandmother sends, I got an e-mail from her today. The subject read “Prayers need,” and this was the text:

Click here

(It’s safe—relatively speaking—to click. No viruses or spyware, in case you wondered.)

by greg—Apr 4, 08:25 PM

i remember a sick photo of me.

i was standing in my underware on the front porch of an old run-down farmer house in north georgia.

i looked like frankenstein from the swollen brow… it wasn’t the mumps but the hives… my dad tells me it was brought on by a severe allergic reaction to cold

by Jeremy—Apr 4, 08:35 PM

In my high school yearbook there’s a photo of me with huge cheeks, swollen from surgery. I suspect that doesn’t count, however, because I was both photographer and photographed, and I was the yb editor and ok’d the photo’s inclusion…

by greg—Apr 5, 05:43 AM