Ampersand

Jag kan inte låta bli att bjuda på ytterligare ett stycke ur Robert A. Heinleins klassiska ungdomsscience fiction-roman Have Space Suit ? Will Travel.

Dad didn’t bother with banks?just the money basket and the one next to it marked ”UNCLE SAM”, the contents of which he bundled up and mailed to the govnerment once a year. This caused the Internal Revenue Service considerable headache and once they sent a man to remonstrate with him.

First the man demanded, then he pleaded. ”But, Dr. Russell, we know your background. You’ve got no excuse for not keeping proper records.”

”But I do,” Dad told him. ”Up here.” He tapped his forehead.

”The law requires written records.”

”Look again,” Dad advised him. ”The law can’t even require a man to read and write. More coffee?”

The man tried to get Dad to pay by check or money order. Dad read him the fine print on a dollar bill, the part about ”legal tender for all debts, public and private.”

In a despairing effort to get something out of the trip he asked Dad please not to fill in the space marked ”occupation” with ”Spy.”

”Why not?”

”What? Why, because you aren’t?and it upsets people.”

”Have you checked with the F.B.I.?”

”Eh? No.”

”They probably wouldn’t answer. But you’ve been very polite. I’ll mark it ‘Unemployed Spy.’ Okay?”

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