PREFACE

 

NEST: 1. The structure made or the place chosen by birds for laying their Eggs and sheltering their young. 3. A cozy or snug place to live or rest; retreat.

 

GRAFFITI: (It., a scribbling / GRAFFIO, a scratch), an inscription or drawing scratched on pillars, buildings, etc., as in ancient ROME.

 

This account will be of interest mostly to my kith or kin. If by chance you are a reader who is neither of the above you may find the "going a little rough."

 

I am a tedious fellow; the kind who must wash his hands before going to the bathroom, or must comb his hair to go to bed.

 

Both my kith and kin will find many places and events with which they are acquainted. You other poor readers who are not so privileged will of necessity have to use some imagination.

 

The practice of so often flitting (archaic definition) by my parents must have been ingrained in me; perhaps even amplified. The result being that I inflicted on my wife and children the breaking-up of the N EST many more times than even my parents did.

 

Since the "itch produced by reminiscing is relieved only by scratching with the pen," *  allow me to scratch, not on walls or pillars, but on ordinary paper.

 

This work is not to be a WEIGHTY TOME, but lighthearted for the amusement of my posterity.

 

*A quote from the EPILOGUE of this work.