The Address Book

At the start of each school term, at the age of about ten, I did something that I suppose a million other ten-year-olds have done: I wrote my name in an exercise book, along with my house number and street. I then added the name of the suburb, and the city. Then, for good measure, I named the administrative region in which my city stood, and just to make sure, the country. And then - where did I imagine I might lose this book, and who would find it? - I wrote 'the Earth', and just in case that wasn't precise enough, I added 'the solar system'. At some point in the performance of this ritual, I decided I had better make absolutely sure, and appended the triumphant conclusion "the universe"..."