After the program I had a half-hour before my next class was to begin, and I wanted to thank Tammy (our kindergarten teacher) for her help and to let my little stars know what a great job they did. On my way down the hallway, second-grade Shaeli scooted past me on my left, then turned around in front of me and walked past behind me. The next thing I knew, she was passing me on my left again, turning around, then passing behind me on my right again. I had started picking up my pace a bit, and here's Shaeli practically running past my left, then nearly cutting me off only walking inches in front of me. I had to ask, "Shaeli, what are you doing, honey?"

She proudly stated, "I'm a Galilean moon!" It was hilarious.

Later in the day I had the second-graders for computer science. We've only got one week until spring break, no time to start a new unit, so I'd planned to fill this week and next with keyboarding practice. The kids each grabbed a typing game cd to have fun while they learned about home keys and such. About halfway through class, Angelika got up from her computer, stood in the aisle, and asked, "Mr. Mark, will you tie my shoe?" I knelt down in front of her (to be face-to-face with her, as I often do when speaking with a little one) and replied, "Sweetie, you're seven years old... you can tie your own shoe," but she answered, "I don't know how."

"All right, Jelly Belly, sit your butt down right here," and I tapped the floor in front of me. She sat and watched as I explained that the way most people tie their shoes is tricky to learn with little fingers, and that there was an easier way my daughter had used when she first learned. I showed it to her, and Angelika was fascinated. I said, "Do you think you could do it?" She nodded in agreement, so I untied the knot and showed it to her a second time. Then she did it. Then I did it. Then she did it twice more.

Over the last twenty minutes of class, Jelly Belly ignored her computer, tying and untying her own shoe over and over. Some things are more important to learn than planned lessons in school, something the short-sighted administrators of my last school never understood. I was happy for Angelika and so proud of her, and held a vision of her going home to show her parents and maybe even giving me credit for teaching her.

It was a wonderful day.

My latest spin around and up the path of the great Slinky of life came via the telephone last night. Jackie called to let me know she was thinking about me. Thinking about me is one thing, but she said she'd like to come up from college to visit me for a weekend. Visiting me for a weekend is one thing, but she's engaged to marry a guy she met at school. I have absolutely no clue why she wants to see me, why she wants to come here, nor why she'd do it while amid making wedding plans.

It's all so odd, and I only now have my kinked-up Slinky bent into a shape with which it may finally be played. Mind you, the still-visible kink from when she'd last played with my Slinky is not nearly as bad as the demolished form in which Kari returned it to me, but I find her request very strange indeed.