Recently second grader Iris Uber Alles came home with big news: her friend K.'s dog had gotten into a fight with another dog. This was a big, serious event which clearly eclipsed other issues of the day. Apart from that, the only other news reported to me for weeks was that an overly greasy grilled cheese sandwich was served to Iris at lunchtime (that is a subject for a rant: the new cafeteria service is oh-so-full-of-themselves, constantly yammering on and on about "Healthy Choices" and charging an arm and a leg for the food on the basis that it is Fresh and Nutritious, but yet every meal I hear about is pathetically lacking in redeeming nutritious quality. I'm not wild about paying $8 for a meal consisting of a overly greasy grilled cheese sandwich, and when that is accompanied by an annoying amount of propaganda about We Are Teaching Your Child How To Eat, well, I'm nigh-rabid. On the other hand, I'm also still too lazy to get up every morning to pack the child a lunch).
Yesterday at the second grade play, a big topic of conversation amongst the parents was The Big Car Accident. One of Iris's very best friends (the little girl whose Halloween costume I sewed so that she and Iris would match) was on the way to school with her sister, driven by their father, when a car ran a stop sign and rammed right into their car. The car flipped over, and the girls extricated themselves, but as their father's arm was shattered in two places, he couldn't get himself out. The girls were unharmed and the police and EMTs arrived quickly, but the father is still in a lot of pain (his left shoulder and arm were truly frightening to behold).
I went over to Iris's friend I. to tell her how glad I was that she hadn't been hurt. Iris was by I.'s side, and I added as an aside to her, "I can't believe you didn't tell me this! Your friend got in a big car accident on the way to school!"
"I meant to tell you, but I forgot."
I suspect that if there had been a dog or cat in the car, Iris would have reported the story to me. Somehow if there isn't an animal in peril, it's just not news to her.
8 comments:
'Somehow if there isn't an animal in peril, it's just not news to her.'
hmmm, i wonder who taught her that?
$8 for a school lunch is outrageous.
god forbid there were KITTENS IN THE CAR!!!! iris would have had a heart attack!
"Somehow if there isn't an animal in peril, it's just not news to her."
That statement is descriptive of essentially the entire English-speaking world. (I qualified that statement because I'm only familiar with English-language news.)
http://machall.com/view.php?date=2001-07-10
Also, Spiderwick Chronicles was about 6 months of rewrites short of being a good movie for grown-ups, but I think the kids would get a kick out of it. Lots of good camera work and decent swordfighting. Probably better than sulking with the MIL.
Smalltownmom, I love you. You zero right in on the INFURIATING detail. I am intermittently livid about the cost of Iris Uber Alles's lunches (this is a huge price increase this year with the new, oh-so-self-righteously-nutritious vendor).
Vodalus, we picked up a copy of the first book of the Spiderwick Chronicles today. We're going to try out the books, and they do look fabulous.
My darlings Hughman and Lemonjuicer, I do show sentiment for humans in distress. Just tonight at dinner I was beating that hobbyhorse of mine, we-should-adopt-an-African-orphan. But yes, Animals In Peril is pretty spellbinding for me as well as my offspring.
that is true I did forget to tell "the Drunken House Wife" about the huge car accident and I would have told her right after I had found out if I had remembered! But it really is true that the new lunch service is disgusting, the prices are outrageous and the workers are extremely rude.
eeek! i have to worry about iris reading my comments now? ruh roh. it's hard for me to not be snarky like you.
Hughman, I think she usually just reads the posts and not the comments. She told me, "Every now and then I have to read to see what LIES you've told about me." I laughed really hard.
The only time I saw her read the comments, she said "They're funny" approvingly.
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