Our Shining Star

Here are pictures of my great-niece, Natalie Paula McDougal, the most recent addition to the clan (not in Klu Klux or Arian Nation kind of clan; like in Scottish McDougal family kind of clan).

This first photograph is with her grandmother, Pam, who is my sister-in-law. She's so cool. I like all my sister-in-laws, but Pam is the only one who didn't come out of California, and so, even though she's from Wisconsin, I think of her as sort of exotic. And she's got the best laugh you've ever heard. And dynamite pajamas. (If you don't believe me, go stay with them sometime.)

I'm getting these pictures funneled to me from Steve, my older brother (and the only one of my siblings to be called "grand-dad" so far). I'm sure he has something cerebral and sarcastic to say about that, but I haven't had the opportunity to talk with him since the birth. He is the one who's sending the e-mails, so I'm grateful for that.

And here's a shot of Natalie (who, prior to birth was simply referred to as "Squishy") at 10 days old. Her eyes are open and she already has that wispy Scandinavian angst that made Greta Garbo so popular. And, checking out her digital expression, she has the McDougal attitude toward the world already. Good for her!

I don't know how the rest of my generation of the family are taking this happy occasion, but great-uncle is as close as I'll come to "grandpa," so I'm adjusting to it.

The only great-anything I remember in my life was my great-aunt Kittie (who was the namesake for my own Aunt Kittie and my sister Kittie and my niece Kittie). She was rather eccentric. I remember going on shopping trips with her and my mother when I was just six or seven years old. We would go to "antique stores" (which were really high-class junk shops), and then we would have lunch.

This was about the time Metrical came out. It was kind of like Slimfast. Great-aunt Kittie would always bring one with her to lunch, order a sumptuous meal and then drink the Metrical with it, believing it would make her lose weight. My father, a doctor, tried to explain you drank the Metrical instead of having a meal, but Kittie would have none of that: it was a scientific miracle, pure and simple. I only hope I can attain that level of nuttiness by the time Natalie is old enough to appreciate me.

In other news, cousin Robin (whose website I still have to mount for her) is appearing for the next two weeks in an A&E channel series called "The Glades." From the e-mails I've been getting (beyond the ones that beg me to get something online for her), it looks like this might also evolve into a recurring role for her on the series.

And speaking of employment, I got my second call from McGraw-Hill today, setting up an interview for this Thursday afternoon. The portfolio has been spruced up and organized, so I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille. The guy I talked to on the phone (Mike) sounds like an easy-going, easy-to-talk-to kind of guy, so I'm not too nervous. I just need to show them that they would be insane to give the job to anybody else. And, really, it sounds like something I would be very good at, and a good continuation of my career.

So Steve's on full-time again at work (did I tell you that? It just happened in the last week or so) and I may possibly be fully employed again very soon. But not to count the chickens before they're hatched: I might arrive for the interview only to encounter the worst sort of publishing sweat shop; who knows?

Ah, Natalie: It's a fickle world you find yourself entering. Thank God you're starting out in Wisconsin, where things seem to make sense, at least to begin with. But, then, all is illusion, n'est pas?