When I was a little kid, the family went from a comfortable middle class existence to near subsistence.   Dad tried his hand at small business and proved to be either or both of not very lucky or not very good. That's something I share with him, along with male pattern baldness.  The latter was for many years something of a disappointment to me, as I had always been assured that you inherited the baldness gene from your mother's side.  As my Mum had six brothers and five sisters, none of whom were bald, empirically that proposition doesn't stand up to scrutiny.  While for years I did the comb over technique, I'm old enough now not to be bothered.   I was never beautiful but thank God … [Read more...]