Snakes, Algebra and Smoking Toddlers?

Well here we are on only the fifth day into the  new school year and I already have my first patient. Dracen got in the car yesterday sniffing, complaining and informing me his nose bled a little. I assumed it was allergies (he's allergic to the school, I swear) so I gave him a Zyrtec and made him start back on his Flonase but this morning he is worse and running a low fever. 

And so the fun begins...

I would consider homeschooling him but since he's convinced he already knows more (at the age of 10) than I ever have or will, I highly doubt that would end in success. Plus I would never, under any circumstance, allow snakes into my classroom like his cool new science teacher. 

He was in a near manic state of excitement when I picked him up Tuesday and again on Wednesday. All thanks to the snakes. All the way home I learned more than I will (hopefully and God willing) ever want or need to know about venomous snakes in our area. 

Then of course there's the algebra which I barely survived the first time. (I think the snakes frighten me less) I just spent over a hundred dollars on a TI-84 calculator for Devin's algebra homework. I had no idea such complex (and insanely expensive) calculators even existed but I'm thinking I maybe could have benefited from one way back in 1986 when I flunked my first attempt at Algebra II. 


And I think that's just about enough talk about snakes and algebra. I never know where my mind is going to take me when I start a new post but I sure as heck never imagined I'd end up talking about the likes of these two subjects. 

So moving on...

My mom and I got together a couple of times over the summer, and again yesterday, to go through and label some old black and white photos, many of which I had no clue about the subject's identity. And we even ran across a few that she did not know since some of them belonged to her mother/my grandmother who passed away in 1975. 

I ran across one a few weeks ago, after my mom had left, that had me in a serious state of WTH. It was a tiny photo (like 2 x 3) which I guess explains how neither of us remembered running across it over the years. Anyway, I misplaced it back in the big box so I could never ask her about it until yesterday when it showed back up while she was here. 

She had no recollection of it though we think it's possible it was her best friend's older brother and the only explanation we can come up with is that "a man was behind it" (her words) because while I know they didn't understand how bad cigarettes were for you back then, surely to all that is holy this child was not really toking on a cig whilst sporting his high top baby shoes and riding around town on his trike...

Is that not all kinds messed up pricelessness? If only photos could talk...

Have a safe and happy Labor Day Weekend!

And please don't let your kids pedal and smoke,