How many fifth graders do you know who have their own blog?

Jeezaloo, (sorry Paul) but after all that hullabaloo yesterday, you'd think I would have gained a little respect. But no. I got an e-mail today asking me if I'm smarter than a fifth grader. I believe we all know the answer to that question. Somehow, it was tied into a credit card offer. I need to find a kid to explain it to me. And speaking of questions, as promised I will answer the tag from my friend K8tie over at Good in Theory, even though she has defected to Wordpress:

What was the name of the teacher that was most influential in your life from grades K through 6?

Miss Buchanan, in grade 2. She was my teacher twice in grammar school. Once then, and again in the 5th grade when she was Mrs. Eastwood. I liked her better as Miss Buchanan. When my father died she came to our house and was very sympathetic. For a kid, that's a big deal. Teachers were different people when we were in grammar school. We bonded with them and saw them as parent figures, as opposed to the disciplinarian grandpas they were by the time we were in high school.

Did you argue with teachers?

I tried. Usually it was over the fact that I didn't want to drink the warm, sour milk they gave us in Kindergarten. Every day - warm milk and 2 little pretzels. Then a nap.

What subject did you favor in high school?

I always liked English. Can you tell? In the fifth grade we did a reading challenge. Each booklet was identified by a color. They started innocently enough with colors like black, red, blue, yellow ... As they got more difficult, they ran into silver, cyan and magenta. I remember getting to cyan, then some other odd color when the thing came to an end. I didn't finish, but I think some did and I was disappointed with myself because I'm very competitive.

Did you attend a university and if so, did you attain a degree?

If you were reading yesterday, you already know the answer to that question. I started when I was 40 years old, which I would highly discourage. Go when you are young and enjoy your life when you are supposed to be reaping the benefits of higher education.

This sounds like a question some of the executives in my office would ask, since I am sure that the events of the past couple of days have caught them by surprise, and I imagine at least one of them lost a bet with regard to my intelligence.

Do you learn best through books, by watching or hands-on?

I'm a hands-on guy. Generally, if you show me something once, I can repeat it. If I drive someplace, I can always find my way the second time. If I am a passenger, I may have trouble.

Has education been an ongoing process for you?

Blogging has been an education, and I suppose it will continue. I don't think we ever stop learning. Unfortunately, it seems as though we have to make a horrible mistake in order for us to learn the really important things. Watching others make mistakes usually doesn't help us. People smoke and die, yet others continue, having learned nothing from the death of their friends and family.

What seven people are you tagging to do this?

Anyone who wants to do it may. I won't tag you, since I don't know if I have more than seven regular readers to begin with. Leave a comment and tell me you are going to do it.

So, go and do if you want. I gotta go pee.