Lo and behold, this crazy project of mine is entering its fiftieth year! I was not yet thirty when I started it, and I will be eighty a year from now. Numbers, sheer numbers. At any rate, Book L is right in front of me. Defying gravity, large it promises to be (“Book XL,” January 1, 2015). As large as large can be, as a matter of fact. Which is why I relish the Roman numeral before me: L. L! The L, that is.

Addendum I (January 2, 2025)

As I lamented years ago, Book C is well beyond my reach (“Book C,” February 25, 2013). For better or worse, I am not going to live till one-hundred and thirty. Nonetheless, my fascination with Roman numerals is with me still. Going all the way with that system of great vintage, Books D and M are nothing but idle delusions, too. Even though I would be horrified to live for so long, and especially if I had to be surrounded by my fellow humans, I would be over the moon if my Residua would be graced by such stupendous numerals. Returning to reality, Book L gives me an enormous joy regardless of these frivolous ruminations of mine. Let Books C, D, and M be buried in dust, where they surely belong. Come to think of it, I am lucky that Roman numerals do not go any farther.

Addendum II (January 3, 2025)

Ever since I penned the first addendum and posted it on the World Wide Web, a silly thought has been ricocheting through my mind: how about getting all the way to Book C by writing as many pieces as necessary to fill another fifty yearbooks till 2075? Before I kick the bucket, which would be around 2036, I could write a couple of thousand pieces and ascribe them any dates that would cross my mind all the way to the magical year. Delighted by the possibility of turning my intellectual diary into pure fiction, I had hard time shaking this thought out of my mind. In the end, I decided to write yet another addendum to this piece and thus put an end to this crazy idea. Phew! This has been my way of dealing with compulsions such as this one for many a year: admit your weakness in plain English and consequently liberate yourself from its shenanigans! A good trick, albeit a bit too laborious, I must admit. My magnum opus is rife with tricks of this ilk. Which is ever-so-slightly embarrassing in my dotage, I cannot but also admit.