Well, are all kids everywhere equally exposed to DARE? Or is DARE primarily used for kids who are already at a higher risk of drug use?

We had an anti-drug lecture back when I was in grade school. I'm pretty sure it predated the whole DARE thing. The lecture was given by a pair of officers from the local police precinct who came in with a slide show.

The slide show consisted of the most hideous pictures you can imagine of people's bodies damaged by drug use.

I don't know how successful the program was overall but I know that I've never done a single illegal drug in my life. Blech.

So I'm waffling on tour. It's a once in a lifetime thing, and a tax write-off, but I think I should see how it does out-of-the-gate in July, first.

What Dana said. I'm sure there are plenty of Buffistas who would love to put you up and take you out to dinner.

There was an article about Jonathan Coulton, among other people, in the NY Times a few weeks ago, and it talked about how he's able to book shows in places where he has a guaranteed audience, thanks to his web presence.

And I was at the show he did in Chicago! He was so cute, boggling at how many people were in the audience.

That is a great idea, I can't believe I hadn't even thought about it.

And they have all kinds of neat programs for science, math, the environment, plus all kinds of art stuff.

And check your local library system and find out what kind of programs they have. I know our library system has all kinds of programs for kids of all ages (of course the only thing I can remember right now is the teen poetry slam).

I know Dallas would be way far down the list, but my comic book boyfriend has an in with his store.

Plei, love that wallpaper. I don't think it's ugly at all, and used sparingly would look awesome in a room.

Hot tv Dads: Coach Taylor belongs waaaaaay further up that list. Also, re #1 AWESOME!

Never had a DARE class. Had a 17 year old sister in 1977, though. So I learned that pot makes people silly when I was 7.

Gud, I hope you guys find a comfortable, workable solution to the educational issues. It's tough.

Allyson, sorry about the subtitle issues. Still, book=awesome.

I'm sure there are other exceptional cases I'm not thinking of, but as a point of education philosophy I'm agin it.

We get a lot of students who have health issues that prevent them from physically making it to school on a regular basis.

I was in an anti-drug-and-alcohol program in high school. Mostly I think we were sanctimonious little pricks. But I did manage to stay away from drugs. (The alcohol, not so much, but that wasn't until well into college.) Oh, and also develop a violent Pavlovian response to Bonnie Tyler's "Turn Around."

If you want to come to Nowhere, OH, Allyson, you can hang with Cash and I.

If you want to come to Nowhere, OH, Allyson, you can hang with Cash and I.

I say we pimp the book at Mid-Ohio Con. I'll wear a sandwich board and Ailleann can hand out flyers.

I say we pimp the book at Mid-Ohio Con. I'll wear a sandwich board and Ailleann can hand out flyers.

LOVE!

There was a DARE t-shirt in my household at some point, but the sum total of what I learned from mandatory drug education is that alcohol can stunt your growth.

Also, that caffeine intensifies the effect of some painkillers, which is what Excedrin actually is.

Yes, I learned everything I know about the drug industry from New Jack City and That Scottish Movie About Ewan's Nudity And Vomit.

My dad was a customs officer so all I learned about identifying illegal drugs was from the manuals that he brought home.