What Made You Smile Today?

[Doctor Hmmm?]

You know the drill.

[Doctor Hmmm?]

Very nice 3-vol set of Freeman's Lee's Lieutenants (1944 ed.).  Less than $7 for the whole set!

Unexpected finds at my favorite used book store always make me smile.

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

Today, after a pretty rough (funeral) morning, I came home and started taking my Christmas gifts from my students out of the boxes I brought them home in. Among them were several super-hero related gifts, including things I would never ever buy myself. I had a couple of Aquaman wall hangings (I have several super-heroes in my classroom already, but had no Aquaman. I received two Funko Pop figures, which I think are a little crazy, but coming from students, I adore them. The two I got were Spider-Man and Aquaman. I got a metal sign with the Superman symbol on it, along with a kid-written message, "Are you ready to fly? Come on in." I got a stuffed Rocket Raccoon, a stuffed Batman, and a stuffed Hulk. And I also received a Bat-Signal tree ornament (which is broken :( ).

But what really made me smile the most is a hand-written note from a meat-head football player that I've tutored for five or six years now. It was the most sincere and appreciative letter from a kid who I would never have expected it from.

I didn't think I would have smiled at all today, but the unboxing has made me smile more than a few times.

[Doctor Hmmm?]

Good on you!  Not every teacher deserves or receives that much affection from his students.  (I had one of those.  35 years later, we're still in touch.)  Regardless of how much they're absorbing, you're making a positive impact on their lives.

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

Thank you, sir! And by the way, I meant to say thank you for keeping this thread alive. We all need it more than ever! Cheers!

Doctor Hmmm? said:

Good on you!  Not every teacher deserves or receives that much affection from his students.  (I had one of those.  35 years later, we're still in touch.)  Regardless of how much they're absorbing, you're making a positive impact on their lives.

[Doctor Hmmm?]

Stepping out of the Courthouse in Colonial Williamsburg this morning, I looked up and saw a bald eagle fly by.

[Richard Willis]

Many years ago, at the Los Angeles Zoo, I found myself within two feet of a full grown bald eagle. I think this was before they had protected status. It was in a cage recovering from a horrible injury to one of its wings, probably a gunshot. The dignity it projected may or may not have been my imagination, but I know I was in awe. Where we live now we have a fairly small patio area. I've seen hawks in our patio twice. They are terrific, but not as impressive as a bald eagle.

Doctor Hmmm? said:

Stepping out of the Courthouse in Colonial Williamsburg this morning, I looked up and saw a bald eagle fly by.

[ClarkKent_DC]

My friendly neighborhood comics shop is renting a theater for the opening night screening of Black Panther, and gave longtime loyal customers (like me) early dibs on tickets. Of course, I said yes.

Good thing, too: Entertainment Weekly says even Lupita Nyong'o can't get tickets, and she's IN the movie!

[Doctor Hmmm?]

I'm reading A Heartbeat Away, a then-contemporaneous account of the fall of Spiro Agnew by two Washington Post reporters not named Woodward or Bernstein.

In a chapter devoted to Agnew's rise to prominence in Maryland politics, the authors note that Agnew stood out, among other reasons, for his lack of a stereotypical Baltimore accent.  

In particular, they wrote: "Agnew stood out like an Edward Everett Horton of the Chesapeake."

That made me laugh out loud.

[Doctor Hmmm?]

The CW's "It's Not Easy Being Green (Arrow)" ad.

[Doctor Hmmm?]

Picked up this little guy at a Toys R Us clearance yesterday.  No Crows, unfortunately.

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

Love that! My students' gifts over the past couple years have made me into an inadvertent collector of those things. I'm up to six.

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

For my niece's birthday last week, I gave her (as a part of her abundance of gifts from her beloved Uncle Wandering Sensei) both a stuffed Ewok and a stuffed Chewbacca. It turned out the Chewie makes a growling sound when you squeeze him just right.

I got this text from my sister tonight:

"Paige is beside herself with trauma that she is having to clean the basement for her slumber party this weekend. She was frantically trying to pick up when I told her it was time for bed. She grabbed Chewbacca in just the right spot and he started moaning. I just heard her say, "Stop that! You're only making things worse!"