Paul--

I think you've truly outdone yourself on this voice card. You've covered quite some expanse of territory and I hope you will continue in this vein of telling revealing stories about yourself.

I do think, though, that you could atone for your lack of memory of any traumatic childhood experiences by disclosing any sort of memorable events from that era. An analysis can hardly be expected based on no information at all. I'll bet that since your parents are pressuring you now (to get married and have kids), this probably isn't the first time. Parental pressure stories can be among the best. Maybe they tried to force you to have pets you didn't want?

I am sorry to hear of your victim/volunteer philosophy of your relationships. However, at least you've proven that you're capable of getting involved with women who are capable of getting married. As for myself, my most recent boyfriends have gone on to remain diligently noncommittal. I'm not at all sure what this says about me.

By all means, definitely, we should get together the next time we find ourselves in the same city, with or without a bowling alley. Maybe we could have a new experience in bowling, or invent a new version. (I don't know about you, but despite my renewed interest in bowling, I can't remember how to keep score.) Or maybe we could just have dinner and talk about bowling. Anyway, it would be nice to see you again.

On the one photograph of yours that I've seen, I remember being very impressed and also remember wondering why John and Betsy kept it in their bathroom.

[Editor's note: I should explain that it's a photograph TAKEN by Paul, not a photograph OF Paul that we keep in our bathroom. ]

An answer to a philosophical question: It's what everyone agrees upon.