An arsonist stopped by.

My mother, my sister, and I were discussing Betsy, Tacy, and Tib and the time they went calling. The specific topic was the calling cards that people used to leave at others' houses during visiting hours. Apparently, if the person you were visiting was unavailable, you would fold a corner of your calling card to indicate certain things, like you would come back later, or they were welcome at your house.

I don't know why we started talking about arsonists, but we decided that an arsonist would have a plain white card with bold black type in the center that announced: An Arsonist Stopped By. If you were out of the house, the arsonist would fold whichever corner meant, "It's okay, I didn't set your house on fire this time," or the far more ominous, "I'll come back later when you're home."


Notable quotes:

• HB: "She's so hilarious she has to cover it up!"