November 1, 2007

October had been so busy I only had the opportunity to post 8 times! I hope November will be a little quieter.

True story (I couldn't make something this good up!).
Wednesday was Halloween. We trick-or-treated in Joe's neighborhood so that Bailey can trick-or-treat from home for her first Halloween. Since they live so close to my school, and it was the same afternoon as the Powderpuff Football Game and Carnival (3- 5 pm), I left directly from school and met Michelle and Evan at their house. I arrived early enough to play with Bailey for a little while and then Michelle and Evan arrived with a BANG. Well, it was more of a "bottle rocket" sound, as described by Joe. Michelle took a gash out of the front tire when pulling up to the curb across from Joe's house. Needless to say, I was a bit aggrevated. When I saw the damage to the tire and the rim, I threw my hat onto the floor and gestured angirly, much like Steve Martin in the movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Before I could eat any of the pizza or go trick-or-treating with the kids, I first had to change the flat tire before the sun went down. A gentleman across the street from Joe was kind enough to assist Dan and I, he contributed a hydraulic jack that worked much better than the supplied jack from Toyota. After catching the van twice before it fell over off the jack, we were able to successfully affix the donut and then go trick-or-treating. That isn't the funny part. The next day, in my 4th period class, one of my students asked,

Student: "Mr. C, did you go trick-or-treating in Westwinds yesterday."
Me: (cautiously) "Um, yes.... why?"
Student: "Well, I saw you changing a tire, and you looked kinda mad."
Me: (with a guilty grin) "Oh, I was pretty angry."
Student: "I saw you throw your hat on the ground, so I decided you were angry so I didn't come over to say 'hi'."
Me: "Do you live near there?"
Student: "Do you know the house right across the street with the bright green door? Well, that is my house."
Me: "Oh that is cool, my frined lives right across the street from you."
Student: "And [this student] lives two doors down, and [that student] lives around the corner."

Not too embarrassing!