Arrows fly while Tigers sigh on 44th anniversary high
Loyal readers of The Weekly Letter were left unsatisfied by last week’s issue. Although the birth of a baby was announced, certain relevant factors like name and sex were deliberately withheld. It is with a great deal of pleasure that I am now able to shine a light on these burning issues.
Nazy, Tiger and I joined Tom, Melika and ‘a baby to be named later’ very shortly after the successful, but challenging birth.
“We have a baby boy,” Melika informed us as everyone said ‘uh and ah’.
“Wow!” I replied. “What’s his name?”
“Well, Dad. We’re not sure.”
“Really? Do you plan on asking him when he learns to talk?”
“That won’t work,” Tom interjected. “It is difficult to leave the hospital before you declare a name for the birth certificate.”
“And?” I asked. “Did you forget that a baby was on the way?” I thought.
“We were ready. We were prepared. We assumed that we’d have a baby girl.”
“You were wrong.”
Clarification: Like Tom and Melika, Nazy and I assumed ‘girl’. The reason? During a routine visit to her doctor, the nurse practitioner told Melika after the routine pre-birth exam: “Everything is fine; she’s doing very well.” Melika responded predictably: “She? I thought we were keeping the sex as a surprise!” The nurse responded with a bashful “Yes, of course! He or she is doing very well.” The conclusion: ‘the baby will be a girl’ was both obvious and wrong.
The unexpected baby boy caused a fundamental rethink in the naming process. There was no previously agreed option. Confusion reigned. Melika thought of an I Ching session she’d had with Stefan a few weeks ago. She was fuzzy on the details but..
“I remember a phrase about a Golden Arrow”, Melika explained.
“That clears that up,” I replied.
“So I’m thinking of Arrow Daniel Adams,” Melika continued.
“Arrow?” Nazy thought. “I’ve got a great Persian name for him —Ardesheer.” Nazy remarked. “It means righteous ruler and refers to a King Lion.”
“Lion?” I asked. “That goes well with Tiger.” I thought.
“We have friends who are thinking of naming their next child ‘Beau’.” Melika advised.
“Isn’t that pronounced ‘Bo’?” I asked. “If they plan on another boy, I really hope her friends use up that name,” I thought considering the wisdom of having brothers named Bo and Arrow.
Decision made and legal documents prepared, the family left the hospital and drove home to the house on Nirvana.
As is now customary, Melika and Tom prepared an unusual birth announcement. You can view it directly by clicking here.
The Family leaving the hospital (with Arrow)
Now that everyone is home, we’ve noticed that Tiger, although now convinced that Mom and Dad will not take the baby back to the hospital, is, nevertheless incompletely thrilled by the new arrival:
“Put that baby down, Dan!” Tiger instructed when he saw me pick Arrow up.
In truth, I think that his emotions are conflicted. When he sees Arrow, he is very gentle and curious. But when someone tends to Arrow instead of paying attention to Tiger, he is clearly unhappy. After the first week, I asked Melika how things were progressing.
“Tiger is learning to share, Dad. It’s not easy for him.”
“I understand.”
“But he’s doing better than Tom did when Tiger arrived.” Melika concluded.
A baby arrival was but one bit of excitement in an event-filled week. This Friday, Nazy and I celebrated our 44th Wedding Anniversary. I met Nazy at Georgia Tech in 1970. Since then, we’ve had a fun, adventurous, full-filling, exciting life. Nazy is always smiling, ever-cheerful and relentlessly positive. We’ve seen the world together — living in exotic places including Texas. We’ve seen our offspring grow and flourish. We’ve traveled the world. Uncannily, but consistently, we’ve managed to find the only real estate in the country that never increases in value. And, we’re about to set the record for the longest continuous lease of space in a storage facility anywhere in the country. Through it all, we've been happy and together.
Celebrating with Nazy's Dad — Admiral Safavi
Because Friday was the big celebratory day, I was prepared. Almost. I booked a nice dinner at Downey’s. I remembered to get a card.
“Remembered, Dan?” Nazy asks with the perception that I’ve come to expect, eh, fear.
“Of course, my dear.” I replied. “I remembered that I wanted to get a card, I just didn’t have time to pull it off,” I thought.
“Didn’t you leave me in Saks Fifth Avenue while you ran off to buy a card on Friday, Dan?”
“I left you in Saks because I know you love to shop, my dear,” I replied. “And, as a result, the card was extremely expensive,” I thought.
“And then you forgot to bring the card to dinner.”
“I was saving it for later.”
“That’s why you left it under my pillow?”
“A romantic twist.”
“You wrote it while I was brushing my teeth.”
“And your teeth look lovely, my dear.”
Dan and Nazy at the North Sea (25 years ago)
Nazy also generously joined me at an after dinner showing of the latest Star Trek movie. Star Trek is not her thing. She began by asking about the characters:
“How did Dr. Spock..”
“ Mr. Spock..”
“ .. keep disappearing and showing up somewhere else.”
“It’s a transporter. Scottie got a lock and..”
“Scottie? Why did that other guy sound like a Russian?”
“Chekov is a Russian,”
“If that ship is so great, why did it get trapped so easily?”
A few additional photos follow.
For last week's letter, click here
Dan and Nazy in New Hampshire
1996
Nazy and Dan in Thailand
10 years ago