Should have been somebody else

``Anything good in the newspaper?''

- [ Grunts. ]

``Growls and exclamations are not an answer. Try in a more civilized manner. Anything good in the newspaper?''

- ``A growl is a perfectly good answer when it's the most fitting response to the question.''

``And what state does the newspaper have to be in for a grunt to answer my question?''

- ``I did not grunt; I growled.''

``It's to the same effect.''

- ``It does not. A growl indicates a general dissatisfaction with the material being discussed. A grunt indicates that one cannot even work up the enthusiasm to be dissatisfied.''

``I heard a grunt.''

- ``I'm not accountable for what you hear.''

( Sorry to be late. I was in the mood to write a Vic-and-Sade piece, too.  )

``Unbelievable. That's worth cancelling the paper for.''

- ``Thank you.''

Trivia: The parasol and shades for the Skylab repair mission were not loaded into the Skylab 2/1 command module until about 2 am the day of scheduled launch, 25 May 1973. Source: Deke!, Donald K Slayton, Michael Cassutt.

Currently Reading: A Geography Of New Jersey: The City In The Garden, Charles A Stansfield Jr.