too good not to share

Testing season is approaching again as spring draws closer. This is from a seventh-grade student (not mine personally, but one who tested in my room) last year. When they finished the state standards tests, I gave the students an activity to "show what they know" --the catch phrase from our school principal-- in another medium.

Devon B. chose a rap.

I got a pencil in my hand,
And I don’t understand.
The CSTs got me
With my hand on my head.
Now it’s finally over.
I just want to stop.
On the test they told me
“Show what you know,”
But I just forgot.

numbers I should know

and yet I always have to look them up.

* How old my grandmother is.
* The milage on my car.
* Last year's salary.
* How much I spend on groceries each month.
* The time and amount of each nap my kids take.
* How many ounces of milk the youngest one drinks per day.
* The date of my last doctor visit.
* My weight.
* How long it takes to grill a brat.
* Square feet in our house.
* The bottom line on our taxes last year.
* The address of my employer.
* My parents' cell phone numbers.
* The miles from here to L.A.
* How much RAM is on this computer.

My ignorance is embarrassing. These are the numbers I'd rather make up than admit that I don't know. Am I alone here?

crawling ... almost

He's scooting. Combat-crawling. Pulling. Wiggling. Rolling. Definitely mobile.

the tax on terror

This story about Terror-Free Oil is more embarrassing to me than anything else.

a) Just because money goes to the Middle East, it doesn't necessarily fund al Qaeda.
b) In a global economy, our dollars aren't diverted from or to any single country.
c) They buy their gas from Sinclair, who buys some of their oil from world trade markets.
d) I'd rather buy anti-commy cookies than terror-free oil. Who says Macarthyism is dead?

fever pitch

Gaza? Jesus Christ, is the world doomed to be divided into 10-acre countries along lines of language, religion, race, and favorite color? I shouldn't be flippant, but sometimes I wonder....

Half our household has a fever right now. The other half has headaches.