At Least it Shows That You're Thinking

When I talked about speaking up in class, I didn't mean mouthing off and being disruptive, I meant legitimate participation in classroom discussions. Some teachers didn't care about that but, for some of them, it was a big part of your grade. You didn't necessarily have to agree with the teacher but, if you disagreed, you had to do so intelligently. I didn't do it for the grade, or to impress the teacher or the other kids, I did it because I was interested in the subjects and wanted to contribute what I could to the discussions. I didn't have to work at it, it came naturally to me, and I rather enjoyed it. Come to think of it, it was not so different from what we do here at the Institute even unto this day. This reminds me of a story. I don't think it came from school, I think it came from the army, where it was customary for our instructors to open their classes with a joke.

An elementary school teacher stood up in front of the class, while holding one hand behind her back, and said, "I am holding something in my hand. It's round, it's orange colored, and it's good to eat. Can anybody guess what it is?" Little Mary shot up her hand and shouted, "I know teacher, it's an orange!" The teacher responded, "Actually, it's a tangerine, but at least it shows that you're thinking." Then she put the tangerine down and took another item from her desk drawer.
"Now I'm holding something that is round, red colored, and it's good to eat. What is it?"
Little Billy: "I know teacher, it's an apple!"
Teacher: "Actually, it's a cherry, but at least it shows that you're thinking."
Then little Johnny stood up, thrust his hand into his pants pocket and addressed the teacher: "I've got my hand on something. It's long, and round, and stiff, and it has a red head on the end. What is it?"
Teacher: "Johnny, I won't allow you to talk like that in this class. Go to the principal's office!"
Johnny: "Actually, it's only a stick match, but at least it shows that you're thinking."

I never cared much for those flashy cars of the 50s and 60s. I preferred vans, pickup trucks and station wagons. The Volkswagen Micro Bus  was kind of nice, but it was under powered and didn't have a decent heater in it. The VW Beatles didn't have decent heaters in them either, but they had enough power for their size. I admired the simplicity and utility of the VWs, and the fact that the parts of the different model years were interchangeable with each other, but I never owned one. My first new car was a Rambler station wagon, which I ran into the ground in three years. The dealer, who also sold Jeeps, told me that, the way I drive, I should have a 4WD pickup. I did buy one Jeep model, which also only lasted three years, and I have owned Chevy 4WD pickups ever since. The one I have now is 13 years old and shows no sign of giving up any time soon. Of course I don't get around much anymore. The lady who sold me this truck couldn't have been much over 20 years old. I told her that I had never waxed any of my vehicles, and I understood that, with the paint they use nowadays, it's not even recommended anymore. She told me that she had never heard of anybody waxing a car in her entire life. There you go.