fickle little machine

Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.

—

Kurt Vonnegut, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

(as quoted by Kait a few weeks ago, in anticipation of Maureen’s birth)