Report cards came out this week at my daughter's elementary school. Here are her thoughts in a poem:

GRADES
by Louise Williams

Why must we get grades?
Grades I fear most of all.
How will I do, will I fail?
If I do, what will my parents do?
Will I be ounished?
Will I not get dessert?
How will my stomach feel?
Will I be sick, dizzy, or tired?
What will happen if I do good?
A good dessert? Will we eat out?
I must just not fail!

Louise is in 5th grade, and is an excellent student with high marks. Why is it that all the good students worry so much about their grades? She doesn't even get letter grades at this level.

Well, I've been out of it with strep throat for the past week. It's kinda hard to write with a fever.

I've just discovered that the create your own cereal site, MyCereal is down for reconstruction. I guess someone found a few pits in their prunes? On the other hand, OpenTable is still running full blast. OpenTable.com allows you to make reservations at restaurants in specific cities from your computer. What'll they think up next?

If you are planning to go out on the town with a group of friends, I suggest you check out IOU. This "system" allows you to keep track of shared expenses. I hope you have a wireless PDA!

Why is it that all the worst drivers hang out at the local DMV (Dept. of Motor Vehicles)? I have never seen such lousy parking and driving (except on the freeways).

Speaking of which, someone asked me the other day if I was worried about being offed by a terrorist attack. I said, no, that I was more worried about being run into by an idiot on their cell phone. I saw a driver a few months ago that absolutely horrified me. He was on the freeway, going over 70 mph, talking on his cell phone. As I watched, he took off his glasses with his other hand and started waving them around. Hopefully, he had a third hand on the steering wheel!!!

Another fool was sitting in traffic, punching something into his Palm Pilot. Hello, anyone ever heard of paying attention to the road??

The pumpkins (plural) got carved, and there were plenty of little goblins and ghouls at the door. Even some older kids with no costumes showed up. My last trick-or treater was a young man dressed as a swashbuckler. A great home sewed costume.

I couldn't believe the grinch that Bill O'Reilly interviewed on his show (The O'Reilly Factor) that night. A columnist from the St. Louis Dispatch argued that we should cancel Halloween because of the 911 attack.
One, Halloween is not a national holiday, it is a traditional one. And two, the very idea of cancelling Halloween is giving in to the terror tactics! I hope that columnist gets a lump of coal from Santa!