Pattannica Pancakes: how they got that way

My youngest sister is forty five. I'm fifty seven and my oldest sister is two years older than me and the sister directly behind me is two years younger. I was born on January 1st. The first official information that the Federal government received about me was on April 15th of that year. My father reported on his income tax form that I had been born on December 31st of the previous year.

Dad got the full year's deduction for me anyway. After all, why let one day stand in the way of a full year's Federal tax deduction? My father, Carl, was a Boy Scout about morality and was never particularly proud about it, but my pride in his action was enough for the both of us.

But, more about that later.

The really important thing about my family, the Rosetta Stone of all incidents, is still -- to this day -- the Pattanica Pancake incident. Oh, I could tell you only my version of the events, but to get the full picture you would need the independent viewpoints of my sisters , as well. I need to e-mail them and get their recollections.

Point of view is so telling in a story such as this. I am certainly not the first person to have this insight, but I think the telling of the story will reveal the unique position that families like mine occupy in the social landscape of America.

The story is all about a serving of Patannica pancakes...