Random Thought Thursday 5/8/08

TGIT. I don't have to put any thought into what I'm about to type. Hush, now. I'll have you know that almost every other time I sit down to write something, I put thought into it. But Thursdays can be the exception. So here's what's randomly flitting through my head.

Snapping turtles can be both deceptive and dangerous. I certainly hope #1 son's little friend did not go out and say, "Oh, look! A turtle! How are you, little turtle? Let me pet your head for a minute." Because if he did, he will show up for school with a bloody stump where one hand used to be, and I might feel just a tad responsible.

Did you know that Missouri is making marijuana legal? That's what my students told me yesterday. Not the freshmen. The hard-core upperclassmen. Yep. Missouri is making it legal because it costs them too much tax money. So it will be sold like cigarettes, so they can tax it. That way the state can make money off it. I told them I thought they were confused. And maybe they might want to look it up and see where it is sold in vending machines for those people with a doctor's note for medicinal use. Then they told me, duh, it was on the news this morning, twice, so it's true. I'm the one who doesn't know what I'm talking about. Methinks they were referring to a bill sponsored by Rep. William Clay. Perhaps if they were clear-headed, they would have actually listened to the story, (as opposed to doing a Homer Simpson "Mmm...POT!") and gotten the gist of it.

I have more pictures for you in the next couple of days. A giant rat, and a semi-dead fish. Can't hardly wait, can you?

I am thinking of scrapping my lessons on electricity in favor of an egg drop contest, a tower-building competition, a garden pole challenge, several demonstrations that are cheap and easy, and a Favorite for a Day quiz. Because the school year is almost over, you know.

The graduation robes are here. Miss Mabel better hustle her buns up to the office and dig through the boxes so she can hang hers in my closet. That's the end-of-the-year ritual. We have to wear these thingies and sit up front at graduation. Best seat in the house, but in years past we have paid the price by being pelted with silly string on the exit march. A new route is afoot this year. We'll see how it plays out. And Mabel, these robes are getting cheaper and cheaper. Mine is virtually see-through. Which is sayin' something for a black robe. And it was all wrinkly, like the big expensive robe company just took it out of a crammed box like we ship ours back in, and folded it and stuffed it into the plastic bag. I'll hang it for two weeks, but I won't iron it. Oh, and the zipper had issues again. I got it fixed, and I'm leaving it zipped. I'll pull it on over my head five minutes before we line up.

It does not seem right for one building to sponsor a 'MAP' reward dance, yet base it on attendance as well. Either it's for MAP or attendance. Don't false advertise, then tie in other criteria. Just sayin'...

Is it really a final exam if half the students are excused from it for incentive day? That means they've missed less than 3 days of school, have no failing grades, and have not received any discipline referrals. In my opinion, a final exam is one that you give everybody. Then you can give some other test on incentive day, if the object is to make the left-behinds think, "Gee, I wish I'd kept my nose clean and been a good egg. Then I would not have to take this test instead of going to the park or the zoo or the mall."

I feel like Granny of the Beverly Hillbillies. This rainy weather gives me a touch of the rheumatism. My legs could not ache more if Kathy Bates herself tied me to a bed and crushed them with a sledgehammer. I wish I had some of Granny's 'special recipe'. That must be what kept Granny so spry. That, and regular workouts in the cement pond.

I got an offer from Harrah's for a 4-day, 3-night stay in Reno. If I remember right. It might have been Vegas. You can see how much attention I paid to it. It would only cost me $387 per person, and would include hotel and a show, and is on a charter plane with 122 seats, leaving June 22. Umm...no thanks. I ain't a-flyin', even to gamble. And they would expect me to be gambling every hour of every day, and, well, it's not any fun if you are required to do it.

Enough about ME tonight. You can hear more about me tomorrow.