So I've got this friend.

[ Al steeples his fingers as he addresses the network in this brief period of calm. ]

He's got pride, you know, doesn't want to ask outright so I'm doing him a favor. Say a guy wants to help himself out with...knowledge. Learning. Buffing out some skills for his own purposes. Whatever.

[ The setting of his hands is broken as he swipes away some dust off the polished surface of the wooden desk he currently sits at. He continues to speak as he cleans, occupying himself. ]

I'm not much of an educated man myself: self-taught. [ This is where his attention to the camera kicks back in. ] It's just as important as any books can teach you, maybe even more so. The most important things that I learned were the things that saved my ass from getting a beating. So, what I'm asking is, for my friend, does the City encourage a real education or are we better off fending for ourselves? There's a lot of homes and worlds to consider in this mix, things each of us isn't familiar with. What's important to know and where do we go for it?

I've been living in the modern - current? - time for the past two years, and I finally decided that I need someone to explain something to me.

Why does television that isn't shows about cooking have so many ladies who wear....not very much? Is that something that people in the future like to watch?

Because it just seems disrespectful to me.

I get that I am old by comparison to a lot of you. Good on you. Enjoy it. It's not gonna last.

Let me say one thing, and let me be perfectly clear: I am not your grandpa. I'm not anybody's grandpa. Okay?