  Diary of Charles, Ship's Linguist, HMS Juvenile Delinquent (Snug as a bug in a rug) Overheard in the galley- Ship's Cook (shouting at ship's cat Monkey): "Why do you run when I get the pot Monkey? You afraid I'm going to boil you? " (gesturing menacingly at Monkey with a large black pot retrieved from a cupboard) "Don't fear the pot Monkey. It's only a pot. See? See, Monkey? Pot. Pot pot pot. Pot, Monkey, pot. Pot pot Monkey pot pot pot. Pot! POT! " (rhythmic banging of pot against chopping block). Monkey looks askance, then walks away, shaking one hind paw dancerly behind him as he steps away, as if shaking the devil politely off his heel.
This is superb. The levels, the dialectics! A linguistic goldmine. I shall seclude myself this afternoon and analyze. It feels wonderful to breathe harbor air and to get back to my academic roots. My work with Delwin on a penguin lexicon for publication is rewarding, but like any professional working for a prolonged time on some esoteric area of their expertise, it is refreshing and mind cleansing to get back to the basics. I wonder what Arhtur has been up to, scampering around the hallways in the Captain's absence? 
