On Tue, 06 Nov 2007 07:30:35 -0700, Jim Thompson
wrote:

On Mon, 05 Nov 2007 19:57:01 -0800, John Larkin
wrote:

On Mon, 05 Nov 2007 09:00:40 -0700, Jim Thompson
wrote:

Back-Up #8...

http://www.adtsoft.com/Killian

...Jim Thompson

When my first kid was born, I was 21 I think, and it was the standard
wait on a bench outside, then much later get to see the kid through a
window. When The Brat was born, I was 40 and things had changed. I was
in the room when she was born (fairly messy process, being born) and
then they took her into a room across the hall and put her on a table,
with thermocouples stuck on her hide and some sort of closed-loop IR
heaters that made sure that her own thermoregulator loops were
working. They left me alone with her to watch that everything was OK,
probably on purpose, the bonding thing. It worked. She lay there on
her back, looking all around, making various faces on the order of
"what the hell have I got into now?" Obviously a new, very distinct
consciousness had arrived, from somewhere. That was, I think, the most
memorable instant of my life, so far.

John

Yep. It's worth a cry. 4 children and 8 grandchildren later (a 45
year span) I still feel the same.

...Jim Thompson


Another memorable instant was the day that I realized that she was big
enough and strong enough to hurt me. [1]

John

[1] She's now team captain for the Cornell softball team, even
scarier. You *do* want to pay attention when you're feeding her balls
in the batting cage, and they're coming back at you like Sidewinder
missiles.