The Judge RAVES!

Date: 20/12/18

To The Next Generation

I became a great-great uncle yesterday for the first time, with the arrival of this little bundle:

Leo Anthony Stapley
b. 19 December 2018

Unalloyed joy, of course, and much love to my great-nephew Dan and his partner Erin.

Nevertheless, young Leo's emergence has caused me to become somewhat pensive. The first reason is the realisation that this is, in actuarial likelihood, the last time I will see a brand new generation of the family come along.

Beyond that, I ponder about what sort of a world, what sort of a society he will grow up in.

I did try to put together one of those homilies that those of a literary bent feel wont to produce at times like this; a letter that he can read when he achieves the adult state. But, having written four or five paragraphs of it, I realised that not only was it as bad as such exercises invariably are, it would almost certainly be nothing more than a curio to him; certainly, I can have no more idea than he does at present what his life has in store for him.

So I desisted, not without a feeling of relief; one which he may share should he ever find out how close he came to being on the receiving end of it.

Just let him be the best that he can be, and let him be true to himself; I think that that's the best wish even a doting old great-great uncle can grant him.

File under: Yay!