Communication Stylings

"Hi, dad. I woke up this morning as a cockroach. Wish you were here ... with crumbs."

That would surely have been a much more amusing letter for Franz Kafka to write his father. But he wasn't actually that kind of fun guy (or fungi). This week objet d'eBay, a 1966 edition of Kafka's "Letter To His Father," actually begins, "Dearest Father, You asked me recently why I maintain that I am afraid of you. As usual, I was unable to think of any answer to your question, partly for the very reason that I am afraid of you...."

As a comment (perhaps) on why relations between father and son were strained, FK gave his mom the 40-plus page letter to pass along to his dad. She didn't and while Papa K never got the chance to read the letter, it's available for everyone else.

** If only Kafka had known his emoticons (e.g., frowny face) and abbreviations (e.g., IMHO u suck) he would never have gotten a book out of it. I wonder what Thing 1 and 2 will make from their text messages and IMs? **