This'll make you laugh...

My wife received a text message from my niece at some unspecified point in the (presumably), recent past.* I don't communicate with any of my family - they have nothing of any interest to say to me, and consequently I have nothing of any interest to say to them.

Anyway, it seems that my sister was thinking about trying to make contact with me, and sent my niece as emissary (but not to me, you'll note - apparently a game of Chinese Whispers is required). It seems my sister is concerned as to the reception she'll get if she tries to mend bridges, or whatever it is she has in mind (it must be four or five years since I last heard from her), and with good reason, too. I understand that it is appropriate and amusing to reject people who are trying to reach out, and this is a theory I look forward to testing.

And Ruth, dear Ruth, it wasn't my fault Dad left. Not even this evil machine was capable of achieving that at the age of two.

* I should note that while I've stated this as a fact, my wife merely told me that my niece had texted. Given that quite a lot of the things that come out of my wife's mouth, erm, strech credibility, if I may understate it like that, my niece may never have done any such thing, and my sister may never have entertained the idea of contacting me. Amazing the false paths we can be led down, when we rely on reported information, isn't it?