I was thinking today driving home that I’ve become my Grandmother, at least in that I’ll send links to certain people (sometimes people I don’t have frequent contact with), because in my head, the subject of the link and that person are inexorably bound. I almost can’t help it, it’s like I’m just following some cosmic path that’s been laid down for me. Hence my apology in advance.

It reminds me of my Grandmother because she has this habit of cutting out newspaper and magazine articles which she feels are relevant to one of her friends or family members. It usually has my name at the top along with a note or question, and my favorite part, she’ll underline or highlight parts she felt were specifically relevant, with occasional marginalia. Which is helpful when receiving a several page long New Yorker article.

The “clippings” usually come in bursts. She collects all these, I presume in some sort of filing system, and sends them out in bulk, sometimes in thick manila envelopes, on birthdays, Christmas, in her yearly letter to friends and family. I envision a massive filing system with a folder for every person she’s ever known. Or maybe it’s just a stack that she sifts through every so often.

The subjects of my clippings are frequently linguistics or Chapel Hill related, but sometimes it’s funny to receive one where there’s no conceivable connection between the article and my interests (or once-interests). She’s getting pretty old (mid 80s) so if she continues the habit, it’ll be amusing to see how the subject–grandchild correlation trends over time.