Crooked fingers

I heard from my niece, Heather, today. We've been out of touch for years. I keep up with her comings and goings by talking to my brother, Carl. He's her oldest child. She was born shortly after my son, Phil. So she's...I won't tell you how old she is. She might not appreciate it.

She asked me some questions about things that were my father's and mother's and if I knew where they were. Heather lived with my father for a while when she was in her 20s and struggling to get started in her career. She always seemed to really love her Grandfather (she stayed with him after my mom died) and he, her.

Anyway, she's engaged. No date set for the wedding. She said her fiance makes fun of her crooked pointy index fingers and was wondering if she got that from my father.

My dad had really bad arthritis in his hands and his fingers were so bent, I often wondered how he could hold a fork or play the piano, or type. Now, I have crooked fingers -- my pinkie, left-hand finger top points toward my ring finger, and my index finger, right hand, top points toward my thumb. So, I know the answer to my wondering now that I'm experiencing the same thing. I can type -- a little slower than I used to -- and I can hold a fork and a knife. I just figure I have the perfect curve in my index finger, right hand, to go around that mouse I've grown so fond of in the last 10-15 years!

My sister has crooked fingers as well. My mom, didn't. I mean, when she was 80 her fingers were gnarled and misshapen, but they weren't bent sideways like my father's were, and like mine are, and like my sister's are, and now, like Heather's are. It's in the genes!