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2020 <img src="/assets/images/apfom.jpg" width="100" height="153" class="alignRight border" alt="" />
21- <p>I must admit, it is a rather strange critter to utilize as an
22- iconic symbol here on my site; however, it is a symbol of
23- great significance to me because of its role in John Irving's
21+ <p>I must admit, it is a rather strange critter to utilize as an
22+ iconic symbol here on my site; however, it is a symbol of
23+ great significance to me because of its role in John Irving's
2424 <em>A Prayer For Owen Meany</em> — my favorite novel. </p>
25- <p>The following passage from the book will provide some insight
25+ <p>The following passage from the book will provide some insight
2626 into why I have adopted this unusual symbol as my own.</p>
27- <blockquote>
28- <p>But my greatest indignation was to follow: missing from
29- the <b>armadillo</b> were the little animals front claws — the
30- most useful and impressive parts of its curious body. Owen
27+ <blockquote>
28+ <p>But my greatest indignation was to follow: missing from
29+ the <b>armadillo</b> were the little animals front claws — the
30+ most useful and impressive parts of its curious body. Owen
3131 had returned the <b>armadillo</b>, but he'd kept the claws!</p>
32- <p>Well — friendship being one thing, and the <b>armadillo</b>
33- quite another — I was so outraged by the discovery that
34- I needed to talk to Dan Needham. As always, Dan made himself
35- available. He sat on the edge of my bed while I sniveled;
36- without its claws, the beast could no longer stand upright
37- — not without pitching forward and resting on its snout.
38- There was virtually no position I could find for the <b>armadillo</b>
39- that did not make the creature resemble a supplicant —
40- not to mention, a wretched amputee. I was quite upset at
41- how my best friend could have done this to me, until Dan
42- Needham informed me that this was precisely what Owen <em>felt</em>
43- he had done to me, and to himself: that we were both maimed
32+ <p>Well — friendship being one thing, and the <b>armadillo</b>
33+ quite another — I was so outraged by the discovery that
34+ I needed to talk to Dan Needham. As always, Dan made himself
35+ available. He sat on the edge of my bed while I sniveled;
36+ without its claws, the beast could no longer stand upright
37+ — not without pitching forward and resting on its snout.
38+ There was virtually no position I could find for the <b>armadillo</b>
39+ that did not make the creature resemble a supplicant —
40+ not to mention, a wretched amputee. I was quite upset at
41+ how my best friend could have done this to me, until Dan
42+ Needham informed me that this was precisely what Owen <em>felt</em>
43+ he had done to me, and to himself: that we were both maimed
4444 and mutilated by what had happened to us.</p>
45- <p>"Your friend is most original," Dan Needham said,
46- with the greatest respect. "Don't you see, Johnny?
47- If he could, he would cut off his <em>hands</em> for you —
48- that's how it makes him feel, to have <em>touched</em> that
49- baseball bat, to have swung that bat with those results.
50- It's how we <em>all</em> feel — you and me <em>and</em> Owen.
51- We've lost a part of ourselves." And Dan picked up
52- the wrecked <b>armadillo</b> and began to experiment with
53- it on my night table, trying — as I had tried — to find
54- a position that allowed the beast to stand, or even to lie
55- down, with any semblance of comfort or dignity; it was quite
56- impossible. The thing had been crippled; it was rendered
57- an invalid. And how had Owen arranged the claws? I wondered.
58- What sort of terrible altarpiece had he constructed? Were
45+ <p>"Your friend is most original," Dan Needham said,
46+ with the greatest respect. "Don't you see, Johnny?
47+ If he could, he would cut off his <em>hands</em> for you —
48+ that's how it makes him feel, to have <em>touched</em> that
49+ baseball bat, to have swung that bat with those results.
50+ It's how we <em>all</em> feel — you and me <em>and</em> Owen.
51+ We've lost a part of ourselves." And Dan picked up
52+ the wrecked <b>armadillo</b> and began to experiment with
53+ it on my night table, trying — as I had tried — to find
54+ a position that allowed the beast to stand, or even to lie
55+ down, with any semblance of comfort or dignity; it was quite
56+ impossible. The thing had been crippled; it was rendered
57+ an invalid. And how had Owen arranged the claws? I wondered.
58+ What sort of terrible altarpiece had he constructed? Were
5959 the claws gripping the murderous baseball?</p>
60- <p>And so Dan and I became quite emotional, while we struggled
61- to find a way to make the <b>armadillo</b>'s appearance
62- acceptible — but that was the point, Dan concluded: there
63- was no way that any or all of this <em>was</em> acceptible.
64- What had happened was unacceptible! yet we still had to
60+ <p>And so Dan and I became quite emotional, while we struggled
61+ to find a way to make the <b>armadillo</b>'s appearance
62+ acceptible — but that was the point, Dan concluded: there
63+ was no way that any or all of this <em>was</em> acceptible.
64+ What had happened was unacceptible! yet we still had to
6565 live with it.</p>
66- <p>"It's brilliant, really — it's absolutely original,"
67- Dan kept muttering, until he fell asleep on the other twin
68- bed in my room, where Owen had spent so many nights, and
69- I covered him up and let him sleep. When my grandmother
70- came to kiss me good night, she kissed Dan good night, too.
71- Then, in the weak glow from the night-light, I discovered
72- that by opening the shallow drawer under the top of the
73- night table, I could position the <b>armadillo</b> in such
74- a way that it was possible for me to imagine it was something
75- else. Half in and half out of the drawer, the <b>armadillo</b>
76- resembled a kind of aquatic creature — it was all head
77- and torso; I could imagine that those were some sort of
66+ <p>"It's brilliant, really — it's absolutely original,"
67+ Dan kept muttering, until he fell asleep on the other twin
68+ bed in my room, where Owen had spent so many nights, and
69+ I covered him up and let him sleep. When my grandmother
70+ came to kiss me good night, she kissed Dan good night, too.
71+ Then, in the weak glow from the night-light, I discovered
72+ that by opening the shallow drawer under the top of the
73+ night table, I could position the <b>armadillo</b> in such
74+ a way that it was possible for me to imagine it was something
75+ else. Half in and half out of the drawer, the <b>armadillo</b>
76+ resembled a kind of aquatic creature — it was all head
77+ and torso; I could imagine that those were some sort of
7878 stunted flippers protruding where its claws had been.</p>
79- <p>Just before I fell asleep, I realized that everything Dan
80- had said about Owen's intentions was correct. How much it
79+ <p>Just before I fell asleep, I realized that everything Dan
80+ had said about Owen's intentions was correct. How much it
8181 has meant to my life that Dan Needham was almost never wrong…</p>
8282 <p><em>Copyright © 1989 Garp Enterprises, Ltd.</em></p>
8383 </blockquote>
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