Dear Duchess... I know the family thing is wearing thin this week! But please do extend my best wishes to the "Duke" on his 80th birthday!! (to other readers... the reason for the family gathering!)
Clay ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tamara P. Duvall" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "lace Arachne" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, April 19, 2004 2:03 AM Subject: [lace] The Duchess of Arachne (was: beginner in California) > On Apr 18, 2004, at 8:05, Jane Partridge wrote: > > >> I'll be coming back to US July 22 and, being an elderly lady, > > > > And since when have you been "elderly", Tamara? You're not the > > "dowager" > > duchess yet :-))) (oh dear, I suppose we have quite a few new arachnes > > to explain your title to, so much happens on the list in nine years!) > > We are now told, repeatedly, that one's as young as one feels, no? So, > the opposite ought to hold also (only fair <g>) I've felt old from the > day I reached 5, and my parents decided I was too old for the stroller > and had to walk from then on.... :) > > As for the "Dowager Duchess" business, for the newbies...: Although my > bloodlines are "mixed" (to use the kindest descrption), I always met > the most demanding Communist requirements; I'm low-class on both sides. > But I married a guy whose surname, while more acceptable to the English > speakers than my maiden name (you don't want to "go there", trust me > <g> There's a *very good* reason I've reduced it to an inoffensive > "P"), was still unacceptable to the Microsoft's spell checker... :) > Which promptly supplied a "ducal" solution to the "Duvall" problem, > when one of the Arachneans tried to write to me; I became a Duchess for > a while afterwards... > > This may be an *un*-usual disclaimer (every other Pole I met in this > country seems to claim aristo descent), but I have no connection > whatsoever to any Potocki's or Radziwill's or, or, or (even though my > maiden name claims -- in an arrogant manner -- "he has arrived")... It > was just a 'puter mix-up (and we all are familiar with those). Anyway, > my ducal strawberries were soon superseded by the claims of Queen David > (and those, at least, had some *substance* <g>)... > > Yours, of proletarian-peasant descent, with not a blue vein running > through my body, thousands year old at almost 55, and currently > harassed by a "family invasion" (the last 4 are leaving on Wednesday, > I'm told) > > ----- > Tamara P Duvall > Lexington, Virginia, USA > Formerly of Warsaw, Poland > http://lorien.emufarm.org/~tpd/ > > - > To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: > unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
