Month: January 2002

  • Smart on paper, not ready for college

    Lake Woebegone, where all the children are above average, is not in Minnesota, but in Arkansas – where every nine weeks the news about schools overflows with the names of students on the honor roll – and every spring half a dozen students qualify to be valedictorian of Woebegone high school. Parents bust their buttons…

  • Jerks don’t inspire muscians

    Sibling rivalry drove me to sign up for clarinet lessons. The rivalry hit the day my little sister dragged home a trombone almost as big as herself. My inborn competition blew away all the excuses I had given the previous year for not joining my brother in band. I stumbled my way through the squeaks…

  • What’s for dinner?

    It was a familiar scene at the house Tuesday when I walked in after work. Husband was working on his current project. Daughter bent over the sewing machine. A son sat in front of the computer checking his e-mail. It was time for supper and nothing was started. Not to worry, super-Mom was home with…

  • Buy exactly what they want

    I discovered the way to give grandchildren exactly what they want: Take them shopping as I did just before Christmas. They held and studied several toys, lost interest and allowed me to reshelve them. I said we couldn’t buy everything, they had to choose. My daughter had the almost 3-year-old grandson with her. I had…