All springs reduce their currents to mine eyes,

That I, being governed by the watery moon, 

May send forth plenteous tears to drown the world.

Richard III

So we picked up young FCAW from a tennis match somewhere in the boondocks of New Hampshire. You will be relieved to know Exeter is now 4-0, and F won both his singles and doubles against the varsity of one Brewster Academy. That's the good news- the one, tiny mitigating detail is that Brewster academy is one third the size of PEA and looks like a cozy holiday motel by comparison. 

(I believe F might have actually been asleep at one point during the doubles match. )

It reminded me to alert you to the scary, if glossy PEA rally video 

"WE ARE 

EX

ET 

ER- a rather Nike meets the Klan vibe. Check it out on the Exonian online, if you need to get pumped for anything. (If I hadn't given up invading Poland jokes, I would have inserted one here.)

We had an absolutely hilarious evening listening to Tommy recount his discussion with Pop about leaving Exeter; and what T describes as my father's wish for a "three peat". ("Why can't you just do it like the rest of us and get expelled?") 

T said if my father hadn't let him come home, he had plans to smear himself in Vaseline and swing naked from the Academy bell tower on quaaloods. Just to make the point. 

At dinner Tom reminded us that my father had always slightly glossed over the exact episode that had gotten him expelled- like "fairy dust" over the story. As children we were lead to believe the expulsion was more of a "it's not you Charlie, it's us" kind of vibe. 

More a "Conscious uncoupling" than an expulsion. 

In other news, F was very amusing trying to explain about his dorm friends and their social skills. Keep in mind he really likes and respects them, it's just you cannot wink at them if you are trying to pull a fast one. You may hope they will get the message; but they won't. They will tell you loudly you should get that tic looked at. Once he tried to rally them to go to the edge of campus after dark and - I'm not making this up- before they agreed they looked to the Ebook that states the rules. And this is the rule book that recommends locking ones doors at all times. Lol!! Imagine- a whole new level of nerd.  

He has a lot of work, and at the moment some of it ( regrettably for him) is Shakespeare .

They are reading Richard the Third which he does not enjoy, but he said-as if he were talking about Federer's forehand:

"But man! could that guy write.." 

And that made me so happy: that he can see the dazzling gift of Shakespeare, even if his plays aren't really his thing.

As Thomas says- Goethe wrote Faust, but that's about it. 

(Wouldn't be a e blog without a Goethe joke..)

On the way back to Boston we had the most delicious NPR episode on the mathematics of love. I thought Thomas would levitate. It's math! Everything is just math! 

This woman mathematician figured out various algorithms regarding relationships- including divorce prediction. Turns out the happiest relationships are the ones where "couples allow each other to complain, and work together to constantly repair the tiny issues between them. In such a case, couples don't bottle up their feelings, and little things don't end up being blown out of proportion.  So the happiest couples are the ones with the lowest tolerance for pain, not the highest. And somehow she proved this with math.

She also shows how best to date on line, and how and when to choose a spouse. Not kidding. 

So here goes single ladies, write this down: 

You must disregard (as potential spouses) the first 37% of all people you date. Then you must marry the first person who comes along after that 37%; who is better than all the others before. It comes with some risks, yes.  You may discard The One. But you have your best shot if you wait a bit- but not too long.

She actually has a formula, and best of all, it works for choosing a port-o-potty too. If you should find yourself at a concert- reject the first 37% etc..

You could almost see Fs mind clicking: Ok.  First 37% out. Check. Then serious candidates considered in comparison to the rejected group. Check. 

I'm telling ya, he'll do it- this kid of mine. He will follow the mathematics of love, towards love. Because after 15 years on this planet-he sure knows a lot about both. 

"Doubt that the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move his aides, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love."