It is with great pleasure that I introduce to the world Elizabeth Lynne Riley, born Saturday, Nov 29th, at 5:41am. She is 8 lbs 4 oz, and is (according to her father -- and why would he lie?) the most beautiful baby ever.
It's hard for most of us to realize just how much this little girl will see, (and how much she has missed.) VHS tapes and photo processing will be completely unknown to her. The internet will be as invisible in her life as electricity, the telephone and the TV are for us old-timers. And the only President Bush she is likely to remember will be Jeb.
I hope we can get this dirty work out of the way before she is old enough to know what we are talking about. I hope that Iraq will have always been a free and prosperous ally in her world -- in the same way that Japan and Germany were for me. And I fervently hope that by the time she is old enough for college, we will have professors who have learned the difference between constructive criticism and blind hatred.
Those things, the unimaginable technological miracles that she will witness, and the free and prosperous country she will inherit, are not going to happen by magic, folks. We're going to have to work for them -- just like we always have. I do know one thing, though. I know her mother and father. And I know that this new little person is not going to be taking any of that for granted.
Congratulations, Mom and Dad. The easy part is over! Now the real work begins!
Posted by Proteus at December 1, 2003 5:13 PM
Welcome to the Eject! Eject! Eject! commenter community. Please read and understand the following:
1. This is not a public square. This is a dinner party on personal property. Good conversation is not only tolerated but celebrated here. But the host understands the difference between dissent and disrespect, even if you do not. Louts will be ignored until the bouncers can show them the door.
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Now let's see some distributed intelligence and basic human decency! Don't make me come down there every five minutes!
Comments
Thanks, Bill. In a few weeks we'd love to have you over for dinner.
Posted by: Richard R | December 1, 2003 5:24 PM
You know, Bill, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
She may never dial a telephone. By the time she's playing music, CD's may no longer exist. But she'll have my old Legos. When she's older she'll learn to shoot with a .22 that my father had when he was little, between the wars. She'll learn to garden both with a few stalks of genetically modified corn, and a strain of rose (Gallica) that's been around for at least a couple of thousand years. She'll know Mozart, Glen Miller, the Beatles and Santana; Shakespeare, Bob Hope and Jim Carey; Stearman, Cessna and Berkut.
But she's one of the first generation to see a world where the greatest threat of poverty is obesity. Where tyrants look nervously to the sky, knowing that if they overstep, it will be them – and not their captive populations – that will be the first to die in a war. She may see her species go into space again, even if it's in rockets launched from central China.
Processors will be as common as dust. What will she do with infinite bandwidth and processing power, at zero cost? I can't imagine. She won't be able to imagine doing without them.
Welcome to the world, sweetheart. It's going to be a heck of a ride.
Posted by: Richard R | December 1, 2003 6:01 PM
Nice. Lets keep the potential of our country alive for those newly arrived.
Posted by: joe citizen | December 1, 2003 6:19 PM
Woohoo! Congratulations! I understand your hopes and fears, as a father of six I am anxious for their future. It tends to worsen every four years...
Posted by: Sam the Small | December 1, 2003 6:28 PM
Bill, normally when I open your blog, I either grimace at the ignorance shown by some commenters, or grin when a new post is up. Today's brought out a full bore smile. What father cannot remember that first glimpse, or the feeling when you first held your child.
Smile Time! Tears are OK, too.
Sapper Mike
Posted by: Sapper Mike | December 1, 2003 6:34 PM
Thought for the day -- the new hatchling has a measurable chance of living for ever. Given the fact that it'll be another 20 decades before she'll be old enough to drink, and given the rate at which medical technology is improving, there is a decent chance that she is born late enough that life spans will be extended faster than she will age.
Posted by: Anticipatory Retaliation | December 1, 2003 6:52 PM
Chubby cheeks are always thoroughly adorable. :-)
Congratulations, Richard.
Posted by: Russ | December 1, 2003 7:15 PM
Welcome to the world Elizabeth!
Congratulations to the new Mom and Dad!
Posted by: Mike P | December 1, 2003 7:57 PM
What a precious girl she is. My-o-my.
You are so right, Bill. It is for them that we do our very best and never EVER give up.
She's soooooo pretty.
Posted by: Mrs. du Toit | December 1, 2003 8:44 PM
Thanks AP. It won't be 20 decades before she can drink, only 4 or 5. We've decided that she can date once she's completed her residency, or we're dead, whichever comes first.
And thanks, Mrs. DuT. Please tell your hubby that her first shotgun is already in the closet - a .410 Remington 1100 with a child size stock, in the most beautiful flame walnut you've ever seen. That's her 12th birthday present. It was mine.
Posted by: Richard Riley | December 1, 2003 8:51 PM
If this entry were a caption contest, the winner might read "Why We Fight."
Posted by: Stephen Green | December 1, 2003 9:00 PM
AWWW! Too cute!
Let's clean up the mess we inherited, at least a little bit, so the kids can have a slightly less dented world than this one.
Roll Onward!
Posted by: geekWithA.45 | December 2, 2003 7:24 AM
What a sweetie! may God continue to bless you and her.
Posted by: Mark | December 2, 2003 9:54 AM
_The internet will be as invisible in her life as electricity, the telephone and the TV are for us old-timers._
Yeah and anytime someone ego-surfs her name, this baby picture will pop up. I'm sure she'll be really thankful for that in high school. :)
Posted by: MrAcheson | December 2, 2003 1:01 PM
GOD bless you young Elizabeth and congratulations to Mom and Dad. She's beautiful!
May these words from grand Mr. Whittle resonate through any heart which remains soft toward that which is so pure, so untouched, so uncomplicated.
So joyful. Joyful indeed.
EFC!
Posted by: energyforcapital | December 2, 2003 5:51 PM
Being the stupidest person on this earth has it's good points, and I have adapted and learned to use my stupidity to the most intellectual level an idiot can adopt (adapt)? I once never knew reason, I once thought without really thinking, everyone agrees, I must be right. Now I wonder how stupid can I be, everyone knows more than I do. Never having attended a college, all I learned was how to survive, in the wild. I am so stupid, string theory elludes me, I have no clue what feelings are, and to think about hurt feelings? God forgive me, I know nothing but you, I can't forget ever why I was born. There is a wealth out there that we must touch, not monetary, but essential. Being simple hath glory, it is knowing simple things, simple ways, and simple reason. It is not for all, only for us idiots to fight for, and as long as I live, I will never give up. I only hope someone will give up, or lose, we can't all be winners.
Rik
Posted by: Rik | December 2, 2003 7:56 PM
"Congratulations, Mom and Dad. The easy part is over! Now the real work begins!"
As someone who has borne and birthed two children in two years, I must say -- no kidding! Congrats to the new parents! Cherish her every moment!
Posted by: Analog Mouse | December 3, 2003 5:48 AM
Congratulations! May her years be long and joyful.
Posted by: Steve | December 3, 2003 2:04 PM
Congrats! God willing, by the time she knows what Iraq is, this will be headed in the right direction.
Posted by: Snordhol | December 3, 2003 3:01 PM
December 1? My birthday too!
Congrats.
Posted by: Artoo | December 3, 2003 4:39 PM
Congratulations on the new leaf on the family tree!
Thomas Paine said the parent's prayer best:
"If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace."
Posted by: limaxray | December 3, 2003 7:21 PM
Hard to believe that 18 years ago I was that...
To the new parents, just remember - if she's a commie for more than a few years you've failed as parents ;-)
Seriously though, every time I see a comment like that anywhere, I can't help but smile. Congrats to the new parents, and thanks to Bill for the nice commentary.
Posted by: Alsadius | December 3, 2003 8:05 PM
Jeez Bill, stooping to putting photos of beautiful topless women on your site to pump up the traffic? :-)
"And the only President Bush she is likely to remember will be Jeb." Brilliant! :-)
Posted by: Mauser | December 5, 2003 9:21 PM
She's lovely! Belated congratulations to her parents.
Welcome to the world, Elizabeth! It's just been made a little brighter with your arrival.
(Elizabeth is one of my favorite names, and is my little girl's middle: Branwen Elisabeth.)
My baby turns one in four more days. The next several months are going to be terrifying and exalting, as well as exhausting and euphoric. "Love" takes on a whole new definition. But I'm sure you already know exactly what I mean. :)
She's breathtaking.
Posted by: Linda | December 8, 2003 8:58 AM
Time for an update...
She lost a little more weight in the first week than we really wanted, but she's eating like a champ now.
Her grandmother bought her a $5 ticket in a sweepstakes yesterday. Today she won $500. I think it's a good sign.
Posted by: Richard R | December 10, 2003 11:37 PM