More Advice for Children, and Advice for Adult Persons Under Age 30 As Well: A Strategy for Helping to Reduce Conflicts With Your Mother or Father

My advice to you if you're living with your mother or father inside the same home is that you yourself can help to reduce the number of conflicts you have with your Mother or Father. You can do that by offering specific words of sincere and honest appreciation for your mother or father----including through the questions that you pose to your mother or father.

When I reflect on my own life, I am reminded of many specific constructive comments and constructive questions that I wish I had verbalized to my Mother or Father inside our family home.

Had I verbalized a lot more of those kinds of very constructive comments and questions to my Mother and Father, this would have enhanced their own self-confidence as my biological parents. And that, in turn, might have enhanced their own ability to feel consistently good about myself, and to consistently enjoy each of their conversations with myself, as a biological son of theirs.

IF YOU STRIVE TO SEE THE BEST IN EACH OF YOUR BIOLOGICAL PARENTS LIVING WITH YOU INSIDE YOUR FAMILY HOME AT THE TIME, THEY WILL BE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO SEE THE BEST IN YOU AS WELL.

DEVELOPING A GOOD AND CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONAL RAPPORT ON A YEAR-ROUND BASIS WITH YOUR BIOLOGICAL PARENTS LIVING WITH YOU INSIDE YOUR FAMILY HOME, ALSO GIVES YOU A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO HONE YOUR OWN SKILLS AT CONVERSATION. THOSE ENHANCED CONVERSATIONAL SKILLS, IN TURN, WILL PERVASIVELY BENEFIT YOU AND BOOST YOUR SELF-CONFIDENCE IN ALL ASPECTS OF YOUR OWN PERSONAL LIFE AND CAREER-RELATED LIFE AND RELIGIOUS LIFE.

EXAMPLES OF QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS THAT I WISH I MYSELF HAD MADE TO EACH OF MY BIOLOGICAL PARENTS DURING MY CHILDHOOD OR TEENAGE YEARS, OR, IN SOME CASES, DURING MY 20s, INCLUDE:

TO MY MOTHER:
(1) Mother, I find it very impressive that you earned a Master's Degree in Botany at the University of Iowa in Iowa City during a time period when the number of women attending graduate school in Iowa was only minimal. Did any of your professors comment to you at the time on how very pleased they were to see a female graduate student in Botany such as yourself?

(2) Mother, I sure admire your willingness to speak publicly and be interviewed on television in Austin on behalf of the Austin League of Women Voters. Do you enjoy giving interviews to local television anchorpersons? Do you recall the question from a KTBC television news anchorperson here in Austin that you most appreciated being posed to yourself?

(3) Mother, you have identified as one of your leading civic causes helping to encourage as many Travis County residents as possible to register to vote. What do you believe might explain why many Travis County residents currently do not register to vote?

(4) Mother, I appreciate your very candid observations to me during your leisuretime about the many farmers in Louisiana who you say are particularly outspoken about not wanting to pay their federal income taxes to the U.S. Government. Which types of comments do you make on the telephone to those angry Louisiana farmers in order to persuade them to pay their income taxes in full to your federal agency employer here in Austin, the Internal Revenue Service?

(5) Mother, I am saddened by all the cigarette smoke that your coworkers at the Internal Revenue Service subject you to during working hours for yourself at that U.S. Government-owned facility in Austin. As you know, I can smell the cigarette smoke on your pantsuit whenever you enter our family's home here in Westlake Hills, Texas. It seems very unfair to you, Mother, for you to be subjected to all that cigarette smoke, even though you yourself are a lifelong non-smoker. Have you considered asking your supervisor at the I.R.S. in Austin for a smoke-free work environment, or is that an option at present?

(6) Mother, I sure do appreciate your devotion to regularly attending meetings of the Eanes Independent School District Board of Trustees in Westlake Hills, Texas. It's obvious that you would like to see Eanes Elementary School offer the finest possible education for your children as well as for all other children attending Eanes Elementary.

(7) Mother, I often sense that you appear to be at your happiest when you are wearing a swimsuit and relaxing in the evening on our family home's backyard patio. During your own youth in rural Iowa near Iowa City, no one one ever taught you how to swim. Do you think that you particularly enjoy wearing a swimsuit during your leisuretime because it enables you to imagine yourself as a swimmer, despite the fact that no one in the Iowa of your youth ever taught you how to swim.

(8)Mother, I am always impressed by the fact that you never shriek or panic when you encounter an insect or a rat inside our family home or in our family home's backyard. Do you believe that your own great composure in that way derives from your having been raised on a farm during your childhood?

(9) Mother, I always admire the tactful and gracious manner in which you conclude your phone conversations with personal friends of yours. When you comment to your friend, "Well, I won't keep you," you never give the impression that you are trying to end the conversation too abruptly.

(9a) Mother, I feel especially proud of you whenever I hear you answer the telephone inside our family's home here in Westlake Hills, Texas. You very consistently greet nearly every caller with the greatest of enthusiasm and delight and hospitality and patience in your tone of voice and demeanor. Do you remember, Mother, which relative or friend of yours in the Iowa City area of Iowa taught you your outstanding phone manners? Was that your mother, Helen Siegling Gardner, was that your older sister, Helen Mae, whom you felt especially close to, was it a favorite aunt or great-aunt of yours, or was it someone else from your own childhood in Iowa.

(10) Mother, would you like me to invite you to have a follow-up lunch with myself and Debbie Mann, a very nice "Daily Texan" female coworker of mine from our student newspaper's sports reporting department on the UT-Austin campus? I am asking you this question, Mother, because Debbie Mann told me recently inside our "Daily Texan" newsroom on the UT campus that Debbie thought you are the nicest lady whom Debbie has ever met. As you may recall, Mother, Debbie Mann told me she met you for the first time when you worked as a temporary sales clerk during the Holiday season in the book department at Scarbrough's department store along Congress Avenue in downtown Austin, Texas, and Debbie was a customer of yours.


(10a) Mother, I will always cherish your good-humored story about a female customer of yours in the book section of Scarbrough's department store in downtown Austin. That female customer of yours had purchased from you Jacqueline Susann's book "Every Night, Josephine!" in the hope that it would be romantically titillating for that female customer. The same Austin-area woman brought that book back to you at Scarbrough's with disgust, and she demanded either a refund or exchange for another book. That customer of yours told you at that time that when she had bought "Every Night, Josephine!" from your Scarbrough's book section, she had no idea the book was referring to the author's platonic love for her female pet dog "Josephine."

(11) Mother, I appreciate your letting me know about Cynthia Stanley, the very nice female Hispanic classmate of mine from Stephen F. Austin High School in Austin, Texas, who habitually asks you about me whenever she is your store clerk at the Safeway supermarket where she works near Lake Austin Boulevard. It feels good to sense from you that Cynthia is among the classmates of mine from Austin High School who have favorable impresions about me.

(12) Mother, I sure do admire the way you always dutifully hand back pennies to the Safeway supermarket store clerk here along South Lamar Boulevard in Austin whenever she hands you too much change. There must be a lot of mothers who aren't as honest and concientious as you are in that way.

(13)Mother, I sure do admire the fact that you never swear or curse or ever verbalize any profane or obscene language at any time. As you know, the "Oh, Phooey" you occasionally mutter, such as when you have difficulty with a knot that occurs while you are knitting, is very mild and very polite, and never offends anyone.

(14) Mother, I'm very impressed by the many leisuretime skills you have mastered, including doing crossword puzzles and knitting. Do you remember who taught you how to knit? Was that your German-American mother, Helen Siegling Gardner, during your childhood days in Iowa?

(15) Mother, you have commented to me that you wish that your German-American mother in Iowa, Helen Siegling Gardner, had smiled more often. Do you sometimes sense that your own devotion to smiling at others, including through your friendly and warm style on the telephone, partly reflects a conscious decision you made to be very different from your mother in that way?

(15a) Do you recall any other ways in which you made a conscious decision to yourself lead a life in which you are yourself very different from your biological mother, Helen Siegling Gardner, whose own ancestry was 100 percent German.

(16) Mother, I find it remarkable how rarely you ever complain about any person whom you encounter outside of our family home. What do you think accounts for your remarkably genial style in that way?

(16a) Mother, I find it remarkable that you never get significantly annoyed or angered by the bad driving habits you identify in other motorists here in Austin. When you are driving me somewhere in Austin in your Buick Regal automobile, you gently scold the other motorist who irked you by commenting to yourself in my presence, "Come on, Mister," or "Come on, Lady." And you remain composed and patient and good-humored throughout, despite the poor driving skills exhibited in that context by the motorist to whom you are referring.

(17) Mother, I enjoy the Swedish meatballs that you prepare for dinner so much that I would like to ask you if you would teach me how to prepare a Swedish meatballs dinner inside our family's kitchen.

(18) Mother, I hope you won't mind my saying that I myself believe the lumps in the homemade gravies you prepare from scratch for our family dinners should not be grounds for concern. Father, as you know, habitually teases you about lumps in the gravies you prepare for our family's dinners. But I actually rather enjoy those lumps, they add texture to your gravies, I feel. The gravy you prepare for our family dinners is delicious, Mother.

(19) Mother, I sure do admire your willingness to serve as the individual in charge of selecting speakers for your church here in Austin. Which of those speakers has impressed you the most? Was that speaker the abortion-rights private attorney Sarah Weddington of Austin or was that speaker possibly the Austin-based atheist leader Madalyn Murray O'Hair? Dr. O'Hair, as you may recall, Mother, gave a recent thought-provoking speech at your chosen church here in Austin in which she complained of having been hounded out of Baltimore and of then having been hounded out of Hawaii by individuals whom she said were harassing and persecuting and stalking her.

(20)Mother, I feel that it's very special that you and Father have that annual tradition of celebrating your wedding anniversary together each year by the two of you dining together alone at La Louisianne French-style restaurant in San Antonio, Texas. Which entree at La Louisianne restaurant in San Antonio do you enjoy the most?

(21) Mother, you have commented to me several times that you have no patience with telemarketing calls you receive in your family home from fund-raisers for the Republican Party. Have you considered writing to the Republican Party here in Austin and asking them to please not make any more telephone calls to you?

(22) Mother, you have indicated to me several times that you felt much closer to your beloved father, Russell Gardner, than you did to your mother, Helen Gardner. Do you remember the occasion when you felt the proudest of your father, or when you were the most aware of yourself feeling a great love for your father?

(23) Mother, do you remember any political positions your father took that you particularly admired? Did you admire your father for his staunch opposition to any consumption of beer or alcohol?

(23a) Mother, as you know your father, a staunch United Methodist Church member, sometimes complained to you during your childhood about his own cited political and religious incompatibility with some or several of the Catholic farmers residing in your rural area near Iowa City. Did you find that you yourself got along well with several or all of the Catholic children who lived near you and your family in Iowa?

(24)Mother, as you may recall your farmer father raised two or more geese that he used as 24-hour-a-day watchdogs on your childhood farm near Iowa City, Iowa. Do you remember what your own relationship with your family's geese was like? Did you enjoy the sounds that those "watchdog" birds made each day? Did you feel safer from knowing that your father's geese would protect you, if any intruder attempted to trespass your father's farm?

(25) Mother, I would like to thank you for politely forbidding me from ever again visiting the home of the senior-citizen married couple along Brady Lane near our family home in Westlake Hills, Texas. You helpfully pointed out that you do not personally know that married couple, and you don't want me to ever again accept any more of the free candy being offered to me on her own volition by the elderly woman in that apparently nice married couple---this despite the fact that the candy jar owned by that married woman appeard to be pretty.

(26) Mother, I would like to thank you for emphasizing to me that you did not approve of the habitual greeting of "Honey" (or was it "Sugar"?) directed at myself by the female store clerk at Handy Andy supermarket along South Lamar Boulevard in south Austin. You pointed out that the female store clerk in question was not someone whom you yourself were acquainted with outside of Handy Andy supermarket, and that it was improper, in your view, for that female store clerk to speak to me in such a cloyingly intimate manner, you pointed out. You also emphasized to me that in your own role as a native of the northern state of Iowa, you are NOT accustomed to, nor are you fond of, this irksome southern practice you cite of adult persons addressing male youths as "Honey," you helpfully pointed out.

(27) Mother, it seems to me that you are at your happiest whenever you and our family are on a camping trip. You seem to particularly delight in sitting near the campfire and enjoying a cup of freshly made hot coffee. I find it very refreshing that you are not bothered by the absence of modern amenities at our campground.
Do you think your background as an Iowa farmgirl who spent a lot of your childhood outdoors on the farm helps you whenever our family goes on a camping trip?

(28)Mother, I sure do appreciate the way you point out various U.S. senators and U.S. Congressmen who particularly impress you as being very admirable. It's obvious you are very proud to be a constituent of Congressman Jake Pickle of the Austin area. And it's also nice to sense that you have particularly admired Senator Hatfield of Oregon, Senator Humphrey of Minnesota, and Senator Yarborough of Texas. Your lack of cynicism toward our nation's political system is a good influence on me.

(29) Mother, it is nice to hear you say that Congressman Wilbur Mills of Arkansas is particularly good at presiding over federal income tax legislation matters. His position as Chairman of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee gives him many opportunities for promoting equity and fairness in our nation's tax system, doesn't it?

(30) Mother, thank you for repeatedly advising me that I can accomplish whatever I set my mind to do. One of my current goals is to myself earn $20,000 or more in total personal employment-derived gross income, for the very first year of my entire adult life so far. I appreciate your reminding me of the value of developing specific goals for myself.

(31) Mother, thank you for telling me that you recently ran into Mrs. Hiraizumi at the local supermarket, and that Mrs. Hiraizumi commented to you on how much taller I am these days, from what she has observed. I appreciate your again reminding me about Mrs. Hiraizumi's friendly style and kind interest in myself as a human being.

(32) Mother, I sure do admire your ability to get along with virtually anyone. It makes sense, too, when one of your favorite sayings, as you know, is that "It takes all types to make up a world." As for your more recent comment to me that you yourself would not want to share a cup of coffee and conversation with Dr. Madalyn Murray O'Hair of Austin, I also appreciate your indicating to me that you do not regard that atheist leader as being polite enough or personable enough or cheerful enough for your tastes.

(33) Mother, I sure do admire your ability to identify virtually any tree or botanical plant you see using the Latin name or scientific name for that tree or plant. Do you remember who taught you Latin during your childhood? Did that knowledge of Latin help you a lot in your study of Botany at The University of Iowa?

(34) Mother, I'm very proud to note that you are an active current member of the University of Iowa Alumni Asssociation. It's obvious you are very happy with the public university in Iowa City where you attended graduate school. What do you particularly like about the University of Iowa?

(35) Mother, I admired the oral statement you made in my presence today to your former major professor in Botany at the University of Iowa, Professor Martin, that you yourself feel optimistic that nuclear war can be prevented in the future. Professor Martin, as you will recall, stated to you today very emphatically that he feels very sure that nuclear war in the future is inevitable. I'm reminded, Mother, that I would like to know which influential persons from your childhood helped to inspire in you your strong and lifelong sense of optimism about the future of human civilization.

(36) Mother, thank you for introducing me today in Austin to a favorite friend of yours who is an ardent supporter of world government. I believe that your friend, Mary Esther Hill of Austin, is the first person I've ever met who supports having one governmental system governing everyone in the entire world.

(37) Mother, I have sometimes debated which of the cookies you make from scratch are my favorites. I realize that your chocolate chip cookies are, of course, delicious; but I increasingly sense that the oatmeal raisin cookies you make from sratch are possibly better for my medical health in the long run. In the meantime, thank you for not feeling offended by my childish habit of removing raisins from the oatmeal raisin cookies you baked in our family home here in Westlake Hills. It seems that my childish tastebuds are not yet fully appreciative of raisins.

(38) Mother, I am thrilled to sense that you particularly enjoy watching the television series featuring Angela Lansbury as a favorite actress of yours. It seems that her television series, "Murder, She Wrote," particlarly appeals to you. Mother, would you mind if I were to write to Angela Lansburgy care of her agent, and ask Angela Lansbury if she would be willing to write a friendly message to you on a photograph of herself? Incidentally, Mother, did you know that Angela Lansbury was not actually born in Maine, even though her television series shows her very pleased to reside in Maine. Angela Lansbury was actually born in England, one of your own two European nations of ancestry.

(39) Mother, I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to accompany you to this 1968 campaign speech by Vice President Hubert Humphrey here inside Palmer Auditorium in Austin. I found it very inspirational to observe and listen to Vice President Humphrey today.

(40) Mother, I want to thank you for sharing with me that very touching story about how your mother, Helen Siegling Gardner, insisted on lending you the only scarf she had during a visit of yours to her and Russell Gardner's farmhouse near Iowa City, Iowa. You emphasize that your mother could not bear the thought of your walking outdoors on that very cold winter day without your wearing a scarf around your neck. Your anecdote about your mother is particularly moving because you also mention to me that you forgot to return that scarf to your mother after you traveled back to your home in another U.S. state.
Do you think, Mother, that you subconsiously wanted to keep that scarf from your mother as a year-round reminder to yourself of why your own mother, Helen Siegling Gardner, was very kind and helpful to you in many ways?

(41) Mother, it's obvious from the tunnel cakes and bunt cakes you prepare and bake one day of each week for coffeebreak at your Internal Revenue Service federal agency workplace in Austin, that you want to be generous with and nice to your coworkers. Of the various types of tunnel cakes or bunt cakes you have baked so far for your coworkers at the IRS, which bunt cake or tunnel cake has been the most popular, would you say?

(42) Mother, I loved that story you shared with me about the can opener you won from Heinz ketchup company after you entered a contest in which you were invited to write an essay stating what you like the most about Heinz-brand ketchup. You emphasized to me that this was the only major contest you can recall having won. It must make you feel very good about Heinz ketchup, whenever you purchase that brand of ketchup in the supermarket, to sense that the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Heinz ketchup company has generously rewarded you for your essay-writing skills.

(43) Mother, I find it particularly impressive that you have never verbalized any fear of any of the wild animals you have encountered during camping trips that you and Father made together. It seems that not even the grizzly bears at Yellowstone National Park frightened you when they approached your campsite in search of food.

(44) Mother, I admire your many statements to me inside our family home in Westlake Hills, Texas, that as an I.R.S. federal-income tax examiner io Austin, you strongly believe that all Americans should pay their fair share of their income taxes, and that income-tax cheating by many Americans is unconscionable and deplorable conduct.

(45) Mother, thank you for your repeated observations to me inside our family home that I look particularly good in Navy Blue-colored shirts. I appreciate your interest in my being fashionable and attractive whenever I interact in person with other Central Texans.

(46) Mother, thank you for your very candid comment to me in the kitchen of our family home in Westlake Hills, Texas, that if you had not married Father, you would have probably married an Iowa farmer instead. Your comment reminds me that each person in the United States enjoys the legal and human right to choose for himself or herself who he or she is willing to develop a romantic relationship with.

(47) Mother, I would like to thank you for your candid comment to me that you do not share my enjoyment of the "Dennis the Menace" television series. Your observation that the fictional character Dennis does not offer a realistic portrayal of what American male youths are like, has been thought-provoking for me.

(48) Mother, I agree with you that your personal friend Mrs. McKay, who is in charge of ordering special-order book requests for the University Coop department store across the street from The University of Texas at Austin campus, is herself a very capable woman. That job that Mrs. McKay has must be very, very demanding and difficult.

(49) Mother, I thought it was very nice of you to drive Sarah Weddington, the abortion-rights activist and female attorney, to your chosen church for a guest-speaker or "Forum" speech that Mrs. Weddington gave there that Sunday. Having been a passenger in your car that day, I was impressed by the vote of confidence in Mrs. Weddington that you conveyed that day.

(50) Mother, I find it remarkable that you never visited any U.S. state that you found unpleasant, with one total exception. That one total exception, as you will recall, was the U.S. state of North Dakota, a Midwestern state you traveled through by passenger train in the mid-20th Century during a period in which you found North Dakota to be severely lacking in trees. What would the the point of visiting a U.S. state where trees are scarce to the point of non-existent, you helpfully indicated to me in writing based on your mid-20th Century recollections of North Dakota.

(51) Mother, thank you for your thoughtful observation to me that you are skeptical toward the tendency by many Christian parents and Christian religious groups to ask their children to simply memorize the stanza, "Jesus is the Lord I know, because the Bible tells me so." You emphasized to me that you regard that as a mindless approach to religious instruction, when you would like to see children being encouraged to ask questions and develop their reasoning skills, you helpfully pointed out.

(52) Mother, thank you for agreeing to my request that you please schedule a parent-teacher meeting with my third-grade teacher, Mrs. Knobler, in order to discuss with Mrs. Knobler why she had informally accused me of plagiarism in front of all of the other students in my third-grade class one schoolday at Eanes Elementary School of Eanes Independent School District in Westlake Hills, Texas. As you will recall, Mrs. Knobler cited an opening verse to a third-grade poem that I had written for her, an opening verse that stated, "Oh, how I love thy daffodils," as an indication that I had allegedly lifted that poem from a published work of poetry, my third-grade teacher angrily asserted in front of myself and all of my classmates on that rather traumatic schoolday for myself.

(53) Mother, I find it fascinating to note that whenever our family dines in a restaurant, you invariably ask your waitress for bleu-cheese dressing on your own dinner salad. You are the only member of our family who always asks for bleu-chese dressing in restaurants. Was this a tradition you developed during your childhood on your family farm near Iowa City, Iowa? Was your farmer father, Russell Gardner, or your German-American mother, Helen Siegling Gardner, very keen on bleu-cheese dressing?

TO FATHER:

--Father, I'm very impressed by the great honor that the nation of New Caledonia has bestowed on you. You richly deserved the honor of having a botanical plant on New Caledonia named after you, since you yourself had been the individual who as a botanical researcher discovered that plant on New Caledonia for the first time ever. Father, would it be possible for you to obtain a poster-size photograph of that New Caledonian botanical plant that's named after you, so that you could then frame that photograph and put it on permanent display on the wall inside our family home's living room or dining room?

--Father, your recollections about what it was like to grow up in Utah during the Great Depression are quite vivid. The Mormons of Utah regarded Utah as being the Garden Spot of the entire universe, you've pointed out, and you yourself were raised in a Mormon family in Utah.

--Father, I will always cherish the stories you've told me about a particularly nice adult female next-door neighbor of yours in your childhood hometown of Murray, Utah. You recalled that that Swedish-American woman was a kindly immigrant from Sweden, and she was a very gracious hostess inside her Utah home in Murray who always kept a coffee pot full of fresh coffee she'd brewed for any visitor, you recalled.

--Father, I would like to thank you for reminding me of a favorite candy that you and your sister, Evalyn, used to enjoy quite abit during your childhood together in Murray, Utah. You called it either "Depression Candy" or "Depression Fudge," one of the two, and it consisted of Wheaties cereal coated with melted chocolate.

--Father, I'm intrigued by your recollection about the manner in which you and your sister, Evalyn, habitually teased a female neighbor of yours named Marguerite during the Great Depression of the 1930s in Murray, Utah. As you have vividly recalled, you and your sister would habitually chant together at that neighborhood girl, "Marguerite, Go Wash Your Feet, They Stink So Bad We Can Hardly Eat Our Cherries!" Did you or your sister end up becoming a personal friend of Marguerite? Also, did you ever meet Marguerite's parents, and if so, did they indicate to you that they were unable to provide Marguerite with a bath at least once per day.

--Father, I was particularly impressed by your recollection about the great pride you felt from yourself being ranked the number one or top-rated student among among all University of Utah chemistry students during the time period when you attended college at the University of Utah. Do you remember how you celebrated the occasion after learning for the first time that you had earned that high honor in Salt Lake City, Utah?

---Father, I find it fascinating to hear you repeatedly mention to me that the three nationalities of people who have impressed you the most from your travels around the world as a botanical researcher are the Scottish, the Australians, and the Indians of Asian India. All three of those nationalities are particularly noted for their personal warmth and friendliness, you have repeatedly emphasized to me. You also have pointed out to me that the friendlienss of the Asian Indians is doubly remarkable in view of the severity of the bleak living conditions and widespread evidence of poverty amid which so many of the Asian Indians dwell.

---Father, I appreciate your candid comment to me in 1968 that Governor Rockefeller of New York State is the one Republican candidate for President whom you are willing to yourself vote for. You point out that Governor Nelson Rockefeller is so rich that he would be incorruptible, since no one could possibly bribe an elective official as financially very, very wealthy as Governor Rockefeller already is.

---Father, I would like to thank you for that very memorable story about the female waitress inside a restaurant where you dined during your days as an officer in the United States Army. That veteran waitress, you said, observed how you were eating your food in a sloppy manner at your dining table inside her restaurant, and she took pity on you. She did that by teaching you proper table manners during your visit as a customer of hers. Your waitress was so successful at teaching you proper table manners and etiquette that ever since that day, you have always excelled at table manners, you point out.

---Father, thank you for pointing out to me that Aba Eban, an Ambassador for Israel, is a very eloquent spokesman for the nation of Israel. Your sharing that observation to me one morning as I watched a "Today" television show interview featuring Aba Eban as the invited guest, was quite impressive.

--Father, thank you for repeatedly commenting to me that you find the chemist Linus Pauling's support for greater consumption of Vitamin C as a cold-prevention strategy to be very compelling. I will make a point of drinking orange juice with my breakfast this morning.

----Father, I find it fascinating to hear you say that your research work on the prairie grasses of Nebraska is what many people most remember as your leading contribution to the field of botanical science.

---Father, thank you for informing me that during this period in which you are a professor of Botany at The University of Texas at Austin, the Botany Department at UT-Austin is tied for first place in the nation in that category with the Botany Department at The University of California at Davis. Do you find it at all awkward to be sharing first place with that California university, or is a first place tie good enough, do you think?

---Father, thank you for repeatedly calling my attention to "The New Yorker" magazine during our family dinnertable conversations inside our family home in Westlake Hills, Texas. You refer to "The New Yorker" magazine with such admiration and appreciation of the articles in that magazine, including a recent series of articles on "Corn" that delighted you, that I wonder if possibly our entire family could visit New York City, New York, in order to ask for a guided tour of "The New Yorker" magazine's office building.

---Father, thank you for dubbing me "Cornhusker" as a nickname for myself during my childhood in Westlake Hills, Texas. It's nice to sense that you identify me as being very Nebraskan, since I was born in Nebraska, even though I myself have never husked corn so far in my childhood. Your calling my attention to the University of Nebraska fight song's verses about the male students at that university being the "squarest" in the entire nation, is also very inspirational to me, since I of course take pride in being honest and conscientious and law-abiding.

--Father, thank you for your colorful stories you've offered me about the very eccentric University of Texas at Austin French professor who habitually holds conversations with himself and talks aloud to himself in two or three different foreign languages as he walks around the campus of UT-Austin. I have to wonder whether that male professor who talks to himself outdoors on the UT-Austin campus is at risk of colliding with another pedestrian on that State of Texas-owned campus, since it must be rather distracting for your French professor colleague to be talking with himself on a non-stop basis as he walks around the UT-Austin campus.

--Father, I am particularly impressed by your hobby of collecting paperweights from each of the nations of the world that you visit in your career as a botanical researcher. It's obvious from the intriguing assortment of paperweights you keep on the desk of your faculty office on the third floor of the Biology Building of The University of Texas at Austin, that you seek to promote world peace.

---Father, thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity to help germinate eucalyptus seeds in petri dishes inside the laboratory section of your faculty office at UT-Austin. It's very impressive that you have yourself obtained these various eucalyptus seeds from a wide variety of locations in Australia, a favorite foreign country of yours.

---Father, thank you for your helpful verbal observation today during our family's dining-out experience here today inside Corky's seafood restaurant in Rockport, Texas, that our waitress this evening, a heavyset older woman who carries and balances numerous large platters of seafood with the greatest of adroitness and dexterity, is your idea of what a first-rate waitress is like. It seems that our waitress this evening never drops her plates of food, no matter how many platters of seafood she is carrying to her customers' dining tables at the same time! She must have tremendous physical strength to be able to balance all of those plates of seafood at the same time!

---Father, I would like to thank you for very kindly and generously driving me to the "Viking Bakery" in Austin and giving me the opportunity to select a baked good for myself as a reward for my having diligently attended kindergarten class with Mrs. Watson that day. As you know, Father, I was particularly fond of the black-and-white pinwheel cookies being offered for sale inside Viking Bakery. And I also thrilled to the wonderfully delicious Swedish pumpernickel bread that you frequently purchased for our family inside that Scandinavian-style bakery. Your introducing me to Scandinavia in that way later played a major role in my own subsequent decision during my youth to purchase a beautfiul all-wooden pencil holder from Sweden inside an antique shop you drove our family to in Luling, Texas. Your introducing me to Scandinavia in such a delicious way also helped inspired me to post a decal of the flag of Sweden near my desk in my bedroom of our family home in Westlake Hills. With your help, Father, a strong sense of the sheer sweetness of Sweden had been impressed upon me at an early age.

---Father, I would like to thank you for your showing respect toward my repeated advice during my junior-high years that our entire family move from Westlake Hills, Texas, to a home in or near the Tarrytown section of west Austin. It meant a lot to me that you and Mother were willing to accompany me on a visit to a house being offered for sale that I'd learned about from checking the classified section of the paper on my own initiative---a house situated near Enfield Road in west Austin. You pointed out during our visit to that house that construction of a new expressway was being planned near that area, and for that reason it would not make sense for our family to move into a section of town where many of the houses might at some future date be slated for demolition.