But when Ben got a B+ on a test, he was upset, and went up to ask her why. The first thing she did was tell him that he was not allowed to be upset about getting a B, ever, because a B is a good grade. Then, she explained where he went wrong, and told him she thought it was great that he asked, because it gave him a new chance to learn, and that's what it was all about.

I flat-out adore this teacher.

My problem with "God Bless America" isn't so much the GodYay -- it's the bombast. It seems to leave people thinking the title is a command, not a plea.

There's something very masturbatory about the way it's sung and (over)played these days. I don't think that quality was always there.

For my money, America the Beautiful would me highly preferable if you must stray from the actual anthem. Still some god in there for those who need it, but not as strident.

I think she's probably all for balance as well, although I don't think she would have confiscated your books.

I did play. They just did not condone reading, ever, during school (or after school care) hours. So I had to sneak books. Trust me, this teacher sounds nothing like them.

An elderly cousin and I eat out occasionally, and waiters assume she's my mom and hand her the bill. We have fun correcting them, although at 43 years my senior she's technically old enough to be my grandmother.

arm doily

This is my new favorite phrase ever.

Ben's teacher sounds amazing.

My problem with "God Bless America" isn't so much the GodYay -- it's the bombast. It seems to leave people thinking the title is a command, not a plea.

I hear God Bless (Only) America when I hear it, perhaps a reaction to the current (over)use of it, and that helped make me sympathetic to Carlos Delgado's windmill-tilting protest.

Sure. Although really our national anthem is all about "Holy shit, we are about to get our asses KICKED by a world superpower and.... We're alive? We're alive! YAY, we're alive!" which isn't really part of our current national identity either.

I think a little of that mentality is good to keep in one's back pocket, just on principle. It will also come in handy in the not-too-distant future when China says Knight takes Queen, Sam. You're in Check.

For my money, America the Beautiful would me highly preferable if you must stray from the actual anthem. Still some god in there for those who need it, but not as strident

I still hope that someday THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND gets this kind of status, but this is not a Woody Guthrie friendly era, I fear.

People regularly assume I'm 10 years younger than my real age. Which means that when people see Pete and I out at dinner at a nice place, an awful lot of them assume I'm Pete's mid-life crisis freaky goth chick arm doily. I'm amused by it, but it makes him a bit cranky

Poor Pete. Would it help him to be reminded that he looks a good five years younger than his age?

Yeah, probably not so much.

"My reindeer flies sideways"

Heh. We had "my reindeer is yellow; yours is a pea-green" but that's all I've ever been able to remember. And now I wish I hadn't, since Pomp and Circumstance is a horridly tenacious earworm.

Poor Pete. Would it help him to be reminded that he looks a good five years younger than his age?

Good luck convincing him of that. He won't believe me.