What I've Been Reading Instead of Cleaning My House

Friday, January 22, 2010

Too Immature for Maturation

The elementary school's "maturation" program was yesterday. The school strongly encouraged parents to attend.

Frances STRONGLY encouraged that I did not.

Why not? Just because I threatened to yell out:

"Excuse me, nurse? When should I expect my daughter's tail to fall off?"

or

"OK, enough talk about periods. It's the proper use of the semicolon that I don't understand!"

The only thing I remember from my elementary school's maturation program was the boy sitting next to me breaking a thermometer in the middle of a movie called something like "Betty Finds a Hair."

I remember the school nurse being concerned about the broken glass. In those days, NO ONE cared about a little mercury poisoning. In fact, the school nurse would put mercurochrome on our cuts and scrapes (because you really want those heavy metals to go DIRECTLY into your blood stream). In fact, they even marketed games to kids with mercury in them. Does anyone remember this one?



If you were really cool, you would break the toy open so you could play with the mercury in your bare hands.

Maybe it's a metaphor for maturation classes in the pre-AIDS days. We didn't know back then what could hurt and potentially kill us.

3 comments:

SHILLIG4FAMILY said...

that is one crazy toy!
I didn't attend with Brody. When I asked him about what he learned he said "boy stuff" and when I asked more questions he looked at me funny and I said "Oh yeah, boy stuff" haha kids are so funny!

Geo said...

So, did you go? I want a full report! Next time, invite me too. I want to help you ask questions.

A light bulb just went on for me. It never clicked before what was in mercurochrome. I thought it was the most beautiful color!

Lois said...

SHILLIGS -- we love Brody.

GEO -- no, I didn't go. It would've been awesome, though!