“… I was bitten by a rabbit. Or rather, I was nibbled by a rabbit, but because I was such a weedy, namby-pamby little pansy, I reacted as though I’d lost a limb. It was the sheer unfairness of it all that so upset me. One minute, I was saying, “Hello, Mr. Bunny!” and smiling at its sweet little face and funny floppy ears. The next, the fucker savaged me. It seemed so gratuitous. What, I asked myself, had I done to the rabbit to deserve this psychotic response?
The more pertinent question, though, is: why was I such a wuss? And the obvious answer is that it’s because I was the only child of older, over-protective parents. I have a memory (No. 3) to support this. I’m now about three and am in the Red Crow Inn, the hub and beating heart of Brent Knoll. Somehow I bang my hand, and just before I burst into tears, I hold it up to my father and howl, “Daddy, look! I’ve hurt my precious thumb!”
This, to my astonishment, gets a big laugh. Is my thumb not precious, I wonder? Dad certainly thinks it is. When the occasion demands, he always says, “Oh, you’ve hurt your precious _______ [fill in applicable body part].”
I hesitate to criticise Dad, because what sanity I have I owe to his loving kindness. But there’s no doubt that he did pamper me, and such early coddling was one of the reasons I embarked on a wussy lifestyle.”
Feb 17, 2016 @ 09:06:41
Lovely! May need to check this one out of the library.
Feb 17, 2016 @ 14:01:18
I have loved John Cleese my whole life. This memoir is unexpectedly sweet.
Feb 17, 2016 @ 14:53:47
I heard Cleese interviewed about this book on NPR not all that long ago–he was charming and the book sounded delightful. Here’s the link should you wish to listen. 🙂 http://wbur.fm/1R8DezR
Feb 17, 2016 @ 18:09:23
Oh, thank you! I’m hitting it right now.
Feb 18, 2016 @ 07:27:34
Wonderful. I’m a big Cleese fan
Feb 22, 2016 @ 11:06:54
So many of US are. 🙂