[Jean Poitiers]

I wasn't any good at dodge ball either! Just don't have the killer instinct!
P.S. Total band geek dork type!! rather honk a horn than win a race!

I was not very good at dodge ball ... then I went to law school. Now, that one will instill a bizarre effect upon you ...

Still think that half the reason I went to law school was to understand why my parents were "so weird" (they both were attorneys in OK, divorced and my step-dad was a judge) ... Now, much older, but definitely not much wiser, I have come to grips with the fact that being a parent is a weird job in and of itself that screws with your head ... and the mind-warpping effects of law school do not help any in this area ... and that my folks were just plain weird to begin with.

Another reason not to get a K-3, no matter how good it is, you're trained to look for weaknesses and to exploit them to your advantage ... One's never happy with nuthin'. J

[OrchidJulie]

I know of a *dude who might send that back. Even gaffer tape wouldn't satisfy him.

Well, in that case.. my eyelash-batting days are long gone, but mayhap he could be, er, persuaded to pass it along to me instead...?

---------- Post added 02-24-14 at 12:16 PM ----------

rather honk a horn than win a race!

When did you move to Miami?

[Daedbird]

The K3 has not wowed me just yet....maybe when I get it back I will be

[monochrome]

I wasn't any good at dodge ball either! Just don't have the killer instinct!
P.S. Total band geek dork type!! rather honk a horn than win a race!

Yeah, me too. Then I realized I was going about Dodge ball all wrong. I was waiting for a 14-year-old 6th Grader named Frank Waldman to throw the ball at me, then try to dodge it.

But I figured out it isn't about evading the force of the bigger guy - no one can ever do that. It's about using whatever superior talent you have to overcome his superior force - because he can't be allowed to rampage through the 6th Grade unchallenged.

The trick is to catch a throw from one of the other weaker people and just wait until Frank is ready to throw at another band geek. Then, deftly calculating vector and force, knowing he will be exposed for a moment immediately after the ball leaves his hand - and looking gleefully at the poor dork he just threw at rather than expecting something to come AT HIM - smack him right in the ear.

You just have to be a good enough actor to convice the Principal it was a totally lucky shot. There's just no way a band geek could ever intentionnally hit Frank Waldman in the ear from 50 feet with a honking big red rubber ball, now is there? Of course it helps to remind her (Miss Kerr, the Principal) how many noses old Frank bloodied with his accidental throws over the years.

The look she gave me was hawk-like. To this day I know she knew.

It was worth every moment of the wait for my father to leave work and come to get me.

Frank and I went at it several more times over the years but I never again backed down.

---

Last edited by monochrome; 02-24-2014 at 10:35 AM.

[Joel B]

I was not very good at dodge ball ... then I went to law school. Now, that one will instill a bizarre effect upon you ...

Still think that half the reason I went to law school was to understand why my parents were "so weird" (they both were attorneys in OK, divorced and my step-dad was a judge) ... Now, much older, but definitely not much wiser, I have come to grips with the fact that being a parent is a weird job in and of itself that screws with your head ... and the mind-warpping effects of law school do not help any in this area ... and that my folks were just plain weird to begin with.

Another reason not to get a K-3, no matter how good it is, you're trained to look for weaknesses and to exploit them to your advantage ... One's never happy with nuthin'. J

Got any teenagers yet ? That's when the fun really starts!!! Second question, do you practice law in France? And how is it different?

---------- Post added 02-24-14 at 11:28 AM ----------

Yeah, me too. Then I realized I was going about Dodge ball all wrong. I was waiting for a 14-year-old 6th Grader named Frank Waldman to throw the ball at me, then try to dodge it.

But I figured out it isn't about evading the force of the bigger guy - no one can ever do that. It's about using whatever superior talent you have to overcome his superior force - because he can't be allowed to rampage through the 6th Grade unchallenged.

The trick is to catch a throw from one of the other weaker people and just wait until Frank is ready to throw at another band geek. Then, deftly calculating vector and force, knowing he will be exposed for a moment immediately after the ball leaves his hand - and looking gleefully at the poor dork he just threw at rather than expecting something to come AT HIM - smack him right in the ear.

You just have to be a good enough actor to convice the Principal it was a totally lucky shot. There's just no way a band geek could ever intentionnally hit Frank Waldman in the ear from 50 feet with a honking big red rubber ball, now is there? Of course it helps to remind her (Miss Kerr, the Principal) how many noses old Frank bloodied with his accidental throws over the years.

The look she gave me was hawk-like. To this day I know she knew. It was worth every moment of the wait for my father to leave work and come to get me.

Frank and I went at it several more times over the years but I never again backed down.

Brilliant!!!!! Absolutely brilliant!!!!

[Jean Poitiers]

Got any teenagers yet ? That's when the fun really starts!!! Second question, do you practice law in France? And how is it different?

Oh, my .... Justine is will be 13 in April and Marianne 9 in November, thus I still have some breathing room ... I do not practice here; I teach at a French business school, mostly in English. Lots of commercial law, international (trade) law, comparative law, etc. ... plus, I do undergrad "management" courses. The legal system here is a "Civil Law" system as opposed to a "Common law" system of the States ... my favorite class is the comparative law course. I am at home this week with Charlotte (5 &1/2) during a school vacation period. The two older girls left Sunday morning at 7 AM to go skiing in the Pyrénées and the house is oddly quite ... J

---------- Post added 02-24-14 at 18:35 ----------

... Brilliant!!!!! Absolutely brilliant!!!!

Agreed ... great story. Merci ! J

[Joel B]

the house is oddly quite

What? No slamming doors and thundering feet?

[dansamy]

Oh, my .... Justine is will be 13 in April and Marianne 9 in November, thus I still have some breathing room ... I do not practice here; I teach at a French business school, mostly in English. Lots of commercial law, international (trade) law, comparative law, etc. ... plus, I do undergrad "management" courses. The legal system here is a "Civil Law" system as opposed to a "Common law" system of the States ... my favorite class is the comparative law course. I am at home this week with Charlotte (5 &1/2) during a school vacation period. The two older girls left Sunday morning at 7 AM to go skiing in the Pyrénées and the house is oddly quite ... J

---------- Post added 02-24-14 at 18:35 ----------



Agreed ... great story. Merci ! J

I don't envy you at all. My daughter turned 13 in October. She might not make 14 if she keeps this up...

[monochrome]

I don't envy you at all. My daughter turned 13 in October. She might not make 14 if she keeps this up...

Mercifully all three of mine are 'all growed up' and out of the house.

Strangely quiet sux.

[Jean Poitiers]

I don't envy you at all. My daughter turned 13 in October. She might not make 14 if she keeps this up...

Merci ... and honestly, your post made me feel "not quite so alone" ... You should heard us argue: French, then English, then Fr-anglais, then Fr-english and then back to French, etc. (rinse and repeat) J

K-3, again, would not help here; except to capture a wacky language video ... so not gonna get it.

---------- Post added 02-24-14 at 18:46 ----------

What? No slamming doors and thundering feet?

To use my favorite catch phrase ... "Bingo, we have a winner!"

[dansamy]

Doors are a privilege, not a right. If you slam my door in my house, you will find out *really* fast that all mama needs is a Phillips head screwdriver...

[Jean Poitiers]

Doors are a privilege, not a right. If you slam my door in my house, you will find out *really* fast that all mama needs is a Phillips head screwdriver...

Agreed ... but, I usually just pull them up and off their hinges ... then gently set the door against the wall in the hallway ... no central hinge pin needs removing on our doors; wonder why ?!

[Joel B]

Doors are a privilege, not a right. If you slam my door in my house, you will find out *really* fast that all mama needs is a Phillips head screwdriver...

A girl's room without a door is a beautiful sight!!

Yep, rabid mood swings, slamming doors, oaths of violent hate, and the steadfast belief that every other child on the planet has better parents makes teenage girls an absolute joy to be around!!!

[Parallax]

Doors are a privilege, not a right. If you slam my door in my house, you will find out *really* fast that all mama needs is a Phillips head screwdriver...

My son learned that lesson as well.

[Joel B]

Not to derail the topic of teenagers, but I wanted to show my true geekness ala 1985:

Sweet get up huh?? Back in my skinny days!!