I'm in ur ships stealing ur d00ds

I was talking to my ten year old pen pal today, via instant message, and she was asking me what I thought life would be like if nobody had signed the constitution. From there we went to the Revolutionary War and then the War of 1812, with which she was unfamiliar.

I told her we had to fight the British again because they were stealing our sailors. That they were taking our guys and saying they were British navy guys who had deserted. This is of course a simplification but good enough for our conversation, which also ranged around and covered some o the works of Louisa May Alcott.

If she were older I might have directed her to Harry Turtledove's Disunuited States for a look at possible futures for an America that never signed the constitution. But I think she's a little young for a book I thought was pretty grim. Maybe in another five years or so.

I also had a talk with her brother who went to see Peter Frampton. I saw Frampton when I was sixteen or so, an age that seems very far away. Funnily enough I'm sure 16 also seems far away to my pen pal, but in the other direction.

Cam is having a procedure done this week, to see if the gastric reflux he's had since he was an infant has given him any permanent damage. They've got us scheduled to be there at 6:45 in DC, which is about 90 minutes away for me if I take the metro. I wish there was a shuttle like there is for the airport. That would be awesome. He's still on Alaska time so getting him up at five am is going to be insane. Getting me up may be even more insane.