So Emil and Charlie just called (each on their cell phones) to say that Charlie is getting a kitten. I told my colleague across the hall about this, and as I was talking, it dawned on me: Boy in 4th-floor studio apartment is getting a bundle of energy, fur, and nascent claws. What will happen to the kitten if he decides it won't work out? Where will the kitten go? To the boy's parents' house, naturally . . .

So I called Emil back to discuss this with him, and he said, "OK. So we better get a cute one, then, eh?"

That's all I'm sayin', as Em would say . . .