The scene, in two Youtube videos

So my folks arrived yesterday, to help with Cleo during L.'s absence. And if you're of a certain age, their arrival might have seemed as though it were attended by a certain piece by Wagner - simply because Coppola's use of that piece has come to evoke a massive response to a call for help.

And they have been a huge help - even if homemade pies and dedicated grandparenting don't parallel, exactly, a liberal use of napalm. They've been walking Cleo up and down, up and down the house, taking her for private swinging sessions, and stepping in for this flagging daddy in the heavy hours of the afternoon. And I haven't even mentioned the two cases of Charles Shaw wine that emerged from their car.

That said, Cleo, when she's on her game, can leave even three adults weary - especially on a day, like today, when she decides to jettison one of her naps, simply because the world is too much fun to miss. So, after a full summer's dinner we're completely tuckered. And about to sleep, and to dream - as in U2's epitaph to MLK.