Wednesday 17 December 2008

2

The bothering gene: a revision


Now that we are in Connecticut, I have revised my ideas on the bothering gene. I had previously postulated that the reason why my family pestered and wound each other up was a genetic condition, but several occurences have disproved this theory. Firstly, Steven has been trying to partake in the teasing. Yes, it is tentative and unsophisticated but he is not by nature a teaser. There is a case for "When in Rome, do as the Romans do..." but the second factor to consider is the behaviour of Ivy, the puppies' mommy. She likes to stand just outside the puppies' pen, wind them up into a milk frenzy, and then bugger off with the approximation of a doggy smile on her face. As the Cusicks are neither genetically related to either Steven or Ivy, other theories must be considered.

I remember when I was a child I loved to read about superstitions and unexplained phenomena. Bigfoot, Yeti, the Jersey Devil, chupacabra... and the Bermuda Triangle. Maybe there is a Bothering Triangle centred around my parents' house?


Don't worry, I'm not suggesting anything as fantastical as alien interference, although perhaps a study of my family bothering each other would be interesting from a psychological and anthropological point of view. One theory about the Bermuda Triangle is that there are specific natural conditions like water / gas composition, weather and magnetism that in combination create an environment that is different from surrounding areas.

I'm not sure how much you follow the scientific journals, so you might have missed the discovery of a new element in the periodic table. At position 106, you can see the element 'Bothering'.


I can only surmise that this element is in the ground water around my parent's house and has found its way into our well. Prolonged exposure can lead to excessive pestering, a tendency towards fanatacism and even nihilism. Pray for us.

2 comments:

  1. the bothering expands further, down to VA. as with two boys plus brady i find myself being the victim of bothering on a regular basis. even, how dare they, the butt of a grilled cheese joke here and there. i know you feel my pain ;)

    -liz

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  2. Blimey, I thought I was the only butt of a grilled cheese joke... You can just tell my brother how unoriginal he is.

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