Ah, quite gratuitous. But we'll take it. We've all had our fair share of gratuitous posts. I usually post pictures of pythons that burst open after eating alligators.

wow,
i've never been here before but your site is amazing!
and this post is just beautiful.

so profound.
i'll be back, for sure.

I'm guessing that the child with the huge, dark eyes is YOU. Yes? (although the fair hair...well, it's possible. I had blonde hair as a kid, and now it's brown.) Another reason I think it's you is -- the candy! A-ha!

Very nice! I love the chin.

are you eating a slice of frozen pizza...b/c that explains so much

A blistering social satire, Jenny. Right up there with Jonathan Swift. How do you do it? All that tightly-woven angst conveyed through such a benign construct? The darkness even darker for the sweetness of the vehicle? The title, itself, misleading and ironic. Brava, my friend. Brava.

Next time someone asks me what a blog it, this is the post I will send them.

(Stupid spell-wrong hands.)

K: Oooh - I loved that gross python/cobra photo. It was naaaasty.

J: Yes, this is quite the profound post... ;)

R: Yup, 'tis me. I was bald until I was 1, and blonde until about 4 yrs old. And that's actually watermelon, not candy!

N: Ha - my dad always said I looked like some orphan girl he picked up off the street, all covered in food.

Nat: Frozen pizza? Look, I was eating fruit, people! Why won't you believe me?

*j: OMG, you're hysterical! Yes, most people come here for the scathing social commentary. That, and the paint-by-numbers.

S: I just wish there were more pictures of puppies on the blogosphere. The world would be a better place.

I come here for the free buffet.

Love the baby picture, BTW. Great eyes on that Jen!

So you were the model for those doe-eyed Precious Moments figurines. No matter... I liked you long before I knew, and this information isn't going to change our friendship one bit. Never mind that I planned to post pictures of our soon-coming puppy tomorrow and now I can't because it would be "gratuitous" and even worse, copycat gratuitous; no, no... don't worry. Our friendship will survive this knowledge that you also were the most beautiful child on the planet when we were small. That's okay. I thrive on living in your shadow. Really.

;)

As for that photo, yes, you are absolutely adorable, but your mom once showed me a photo of you wearing a sheriff's badge pinned on your little strawberry decorated t-shirt. Now THAT was, to me, even cuter than the watermelon girl shot. Seems to me that there was a little boy in that photo too...wonder whatever became of him...

Two things that destroy my feeling of peace and well-being when I crawl into bed at night: knowing that I ate too much chocolate and random cereal that evening and knowing that I wrote a filler post (today is a good example). Oh, and a third: knowing that I emptied out the last bottle of crappy white wine.
BTW, yours is not a filler post.

This has been that writing . . . that you were telling your friend you had to write, I mean. I love it when the reality weaves into the writing into the reality into the writing.

ALSO:

When I run out of real photos that are actually of my own family, I always to to the following:

http://www.bighappyfunhouse.com/

old photos somehow weave into your reality - even if they're not of your own family

I don't know what made me think of that site when I was looking at your photos there.

TS: Be sure to stop by tomorrow - we have an all-you-can-eat crab leg special that's second to none!

S: It must have been cold there in my shadow, to never have sunlight on your face...

It's actually so funny you mention that, because when I was thinking of posting the puppy photo, I thought of you and how your puppy pic got like FOUR THOUSAND COMMENTS. So really, 'tis I who be the gratuitous copycat. Please post your baby dog photo! (and really, you're the sweetest - thanks!)

F: I remember that photo well. I was the most feared sheriff in the entire county fair. And that boy rode off into the sunset, I believe.

N: You should never feel guilty about eating late night cereal, unless it's Lucky Charms. And then you should feel deep, deep shame.

B: It's so true that looking at old photos makes us want to fill in the blanks. Create a history. And I love that site - it's always a fun treat!

Your Dad I'm assuming? Nice hair.

Nice post!! I still haven't figured out how to put photos directly onto my site. So I have to link to a geocities site. Lame, I know.

generally i'm a big fan of the gratuitous...

Will you marry me, Jenny?

Aw, Jenny....what a cutie pie!

N: Yup, that's my Paw. And he did have quite the 70's 'do. (I'm assuming you meant his hair, since mine is almost nonexistent in the photo...)

THB: Fortunately, that's the one thing I did finally figure out. I feel your pain, sister.

M: Gratuitous sex, nudity and violence I'm totally in favor of. It's really just gratuitous puppies I have issues with.

T: OMG, a proposal? It's so unexpected! But, I suspect your husband might object...

J: Yeah, my dad is pretty cute, idn't he? ;)

What can I say? That is just a great picture of you and your father. I have noticed that most babies who are 1/4 Sicilian have that charismatic presence.

Dear Jenny,

Please please puleeeeez post that photo of you at about age 3 or 4 where you DO have hair and it's still blond, but the curls have arrived and it's all crazy hair. PLEASE??!!! I think everyone will love it.

Love,
Vivian