Sundays With Ingrid (2)
The history teacher didn’t show up Wednesday morning, which meant one: a sub, in this case Mr. Porterhouse, gym and health teacher, and two: an automatic extension on the Whiskey Rebellion paper, a lucky break for Ingrid who’d forgotten all about it once, remembered in the picnic area at the falls, and then somehow forgotten again.
“What,” said Mr. Porterhouse, reading from a note card, “is the significance of the Boston Tea Party?”
No hands went up.
“C’mon, you sports,” said Mr. Porterhouse; he called everyone “sport.” “The Boston Tea Party – dawn’s early light, rockets’ red glare, big big big.”
Ingrid, who thought she’d had a pretty good grip on the Boston Tea Party until that moment, now wasn’t sure.
Still no hands. Mr. Porterhouse fingered the whistle that always hung around his neck. Was he going to blow it? “Know what they say about them that – those that forget history?”
No hands.
“They’re totally – “ Mr. Porterhouse stopped whatever he was going to say, backed up. “They’re in the cra – in the toilet, is what.” He paused to let that sink in. “So, Boston Tea Party, significance of.”
Brucie raised his hand. Mr. Porterhouse didn’t see him. Brucie waved his hand around like a red-carpet celebrity. He was invisible to Mr. Porterhouse.
“’Kay,” said Mr. Porterhouse. “Baby steps. Where did it happen?”
Where did the Boston Tea Party happen? Was that what he was asking? Ingrid sat up: this was starting to get interesting.
Mr. Porterhouse suddenly whirled and pointed straight at Dustin Dratch, sitting beside his twin brother Dwayne; easy to tell them apart – Dustin had the cauliflower ear. They were the biggest kids at Ferrand Middle by far, partly because they were fifteen, having been held back twice despite the social promotion rule in Echo Falls schools.
“Tell the people, Dustin,” said Mr. Porterhouse.
“What people?” said Dustin.
Dwayne made a snorting noise, its meaning unclear.
“These people, Dustin,” said Mr. Porterhouse. “Your fellow scholars.”
Dustin looked around the room, squinting a bit, as though trying to spot something cleverly hidden. “Tell ‘em what, again?” he said.
“Whereabouts of the Boston Tea Party,” said Mr. Porterhouse.
From where Ingrid sat, she could see Dwayne nudge Dustin under desk level, and maybe whisper something quickly too, although they might have just relied on twin telepathy. Whatever the message, Dustin passed it onto the class. “They had it in a restaurant,” he said. “Like, where else?”
(From Into the Dark)
Tags: Echo Falls Series
This entry was posted on Sunday, May 30th, 2010 at 9:02 am and is filed under Chet The Dog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
4:47 am on May 30th, 2010
Cool, this is the example that PA gives at the back of Reality Check for Being Playful.
I love this. I went to school this guys like this.
Barb and Magpie, That mismark is not linked to Landseer's. The Blacks are black coat that can have a white at the chest, toes and a little at the tail. Socks had way too much of the color white. Most of ours are black with a little white at the chest. Though Patsy pups also had some at the toes.
Other solid colors are brown and gray.
Landseers are white with black markings.
The coolest mismark I ever saw was zebra striping.
4:48 am on May 30th, 2010
Ha. Oh, Dustin. Reminds me of Megan, kind of. But, what kind of question is that? "Where did the Boston Tea Party happen?" That teacher has definetely lost it. I mean, the answer is in the question. Mr. Porterhouse should stick to teaching gym and health, because he sucks as a history teacher. I mean, WOW.
6:05 am on May 30th, 2010
Ingrid! …. Oh how funny!…HA!…. I am still laughing!…Heh!… That Mr. Porterhouse is a riot!… grunt!… And there’s Brucie again….snort!… Those knucklehead twins!…oh,my….wheeze!… I think I will have to order the Echo Falls Series just for all the laughs… heh! …I love Sundays With Ingrid!…HA!
6:20 am on May 30th, 2010
Rio! I love Sundays with Ingrid, too! They're so funny! Tailwags and licks to you, Chet! And Spence, Admin, and Bernie! Smiles!
6:37 am on May 30th, 2010
Lexi!… Pug nips to you on this beautiful day!… Heh!…We have important stuff to do today…snort!….Its grandma’s birthday and so we are rescuing her from the nursing home and taking her out to lunch!…grunt!…She loves Mexican food so that’s where we are going….gruff!
Chet!…Thank you so much for sharing Ingrid with us today!….snort!… What a great way to start the day laughing!… snorkel!
6:45 am on May 30th, 2010
Rio! Your grandma was taken hostage by a nursing home? Do you need help getting her back? Nursing homes! Grr!
6:58 am on May 30th, 2010
Grandma!… Yes, she is the one I go visit….sniff!… I cheer her up to no end, I don’t know why, but she loves me a lot… heh!… She became very ill in March and has not been able to come home ever since then…snort!…I guess she is not feeling all that well today either, but she will NOT miss her birthday lunch and a chance to get out of that nursing home for a while… grunt!
7:33 am on May 30th, 2010
Good job Rio! I bet you that she will be really happy for that lunch. And to get out of that old-people-kidnapping nursing home. Make sure to give her a lot of licks from all of us! Tailwags! Lexi.
7:49 am on May 30th, 2010
Lexi!… I definitely will tell her!… snort!…. Well, we are off to get grandma!… wheeze!… back later to finish up other things!…. sniff!! mmmm Mexican food!…,
9:00 am on May 30th, 2010
We are going to put flowers on some graves and then, maybe, I will clean out a closet. Well, the bottom part of a closet, not the whole thing.
Whoopeeeee
~Staff
Fun to reread Ingrid. Loved the question. It reminds me of the one, "Who is buried in Grant's tomb"?
9:48 am on May 30th, 2010
AbbieKat's staff: It isn't really difficult making pie crust once you get the hang of it. My mom made pies, as did hers, and she taught me waaaaay back when. You should just try it.
11:17 am on May 30th, 2010
Back!… Well we had a really good time with grandma!… snort!… She had fun too…cough!…There was one tense moment when we had to leave grandma in the car by herself while we went in to get her walker….grunt!…. I was sure she was going to make her get away then…wheeze!… She’s just crafty enough to drive away on her own…. snort!… But when we came back, she was still sitting in the passenger seat…heh!
11:42 am on May 30th, 2010
Ha, Rio! Your Grandma wouldn't drive away on her special day! Ha! What were you thinking, you little rascal? As Megan would say, LOL.
Pies are good. Mommy makes the best-IF ONLY SHE WERE HERE! She's still in Germany, and made the German news. Turns out her long lost brother is a film…person…and the news people filmed the entrance of Mommy in the airport. Ha!
11:43 am on May 30th, 2010
Rockies!….The score is 2 – 2 right now, top of the 5th….snort!… Maybe Manny will fumble around with the ball again today… heh!… He was a riot last night! What a buffoon!… snicker!
11:58 am on May 30th, 2010
Cool, Lexi, did it make our news? or just in Germany?
12:16 pm on May 30th, 2010
Manny!…. OH MY GAWD!… snort!….Today is Manny Ramirez’s birthday too!… crap!
12:26 pm on May 30th, 2010
Lexi!… Do you think the story of her long lost brother will be on World News Tonight?… snort! … Wouldn’t that be interesting to see?? ….wheeze!
12:51 pm on May 30th, 2010
Ha. No, guys. I've been told that that news is only in Germany. Megan and that big, sweaty dude in my family-namely Daddy-are trying to see if they can tap into the German Internet somehow and see the news. But, if that isn't possible, Robert-the long lost brother-will have an extra tape thingy and will give it to Mommy for when she comes home. Ha! Can't wait! Although, it'll be all in German, and it'll be kinda hard to understand…
Rio! Who's Manny Ramirez? The name rings a bell….
1:41 pm on May 30th, 2010
Lexi!… I’m sure you have heard his name tossed about by the big sweaty guy in your house…heh!… Manny is a Major League Left Fielder for the LA Dodgers (whom we here hate!!!)… snort!… He is one of 25 people to have hit over 500 career home runs ….wheeze!.. His 21 career grand slams are the most by any active player, and the second-most all-time, behind Lou Gerig's 23… gasp!… Ramirez is a 12-time All-Star….grunt! … He helped the Boston Red Sox win the 2007 World Series, where they swept the Rockies….sob!sob!…We think he is on the down slope now though!…heh!
2:25 pm on May 30th, 2010
Uh oh!… I think she is gearing up for one of her vigorous walks…snort!… This time to diffuse all the anger over those blasted Dodgers winning again… grunt!… I’m sure I will be drug along on this thing … crap!
3:09 pm on May 30th, 2010
I'm glad you're going for the vigorous walk, Riö. We're exhausted here. Rest of the air conditioners are in, the garden is complete, some dogs are washed, and here's a picture of you know who . . .
[img ]http://chetthedog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/1275264549-P1010013.JPG[/img]
3:12 pm on May 30th, 2010
Melanie, Bess is so beautiful! You got a good picture of her.
3:28 pm on May 30th, 2010
Wheeze!..cough! sneeze!….. I think I pissed on every living plant in the neighborhood… snort!.. and covered every pee-mail there was out there…grunt!… Then I dropped some other unmentionables… heh!…Just for Manny and the Dodgers!!
Bess!… Finally!..ohhhh, it’s the Black Beauty herself!.. snorkel!…Wait! Did someone shave her bare?? Whats up with that???…snort!… Where’s all her lovely fur???? …grunt!…Even her top-notch is gone!… Bess!… Are you okay with your new look???… sniff, you know how I feel about you no matter what…gruff!… Your tail is still fluffy!… heh!
3:41 pm on May 30th, 2010
Melanie: Bess is beautiful.
4:10 pm on May 30th, 2010
OooEeee Bess!
Rio, doesn't the look on her face tell you that Bess will tolerate no funny business? It sure reads that way to me.
Of course, considering her 'shave,' it could just be a "if you take a picture of me like this I will get you" look.
Anyway, I am impressed! I like strong females.
Alice Johnson
4:23 pm on May 30th, 2010
AbbieTheMissinKat!… Well! Isn’t this a nice surprise for the Lonely Weekend Gang!?…snort!… Just so you know, Bess is such a good natured lovely creature, she just lets hair cuts come and go…snort!…She is way more interested in Animal Planet than what her hair is doing at the moment,… grunt!…And that’s why I respect and adore her so very much!… She is true to herself!… wooo! … Hair comes and goes…sniff!… I think she has that sort of mad look in her eyes because of the Van not Starting and our long weekend plans were messed up!… sigh.!
4:28 pm on May 30th, 2010
Alice!…Sorry! I should have known it was you trying to stir up trouble, and not AbbieTheKat!… snort!.. beggin’ my pardon!…sniff!
4:49 pm on May 30th, 2010
Melanie, Thanks for the clarificatiion on the mismark coloring. We still think she was cute, even though she probably could not be shown in a AKC show. Is that right? Thanks also for the photo, only a week or so to go. Everyone is excited!
4:58 pm on May 30th, 2010
MagPie!… A week or so to go for what??…snort!…Why is everyone excited except for ME???…grunt!… Is this a devious plot to exclude me in some girl-dog sneaky stuff… wheeze!… If it’s the baby shower, count me out… grumble!
5:10 pm on May 30th, 2010
I love the idea of a virtual baby shower. I am trying to decide if I am going to make a virtual dog quilt for the mother or just buy some chew toys. Decisions, decisions!
BTW, when are we going to have it? Here in North Dakota we usually have one as a drop in party for about 3-4 hours and people come and go as they have time. I think it would work on the blog too.
Do you think Chet and Bernie would drop by? Maybe Audrey would bring a virtual present?
AbbietheKitty and Staff
(Alice Johnson is thinking about it but not sure yet if she want to participate.)
5:53 pm on May 30th, 2010
Grump!…I’m with Alice!.. snort!.. These pups are going to be for SALE for gosh sakes….grunt!…Probably for a ton of money too…grump!….So why do I have to empty my moth ridden wallet for that???…grrrrr!… All I care about is if they are born healthy and no weird markings – apparently this is important to the bottom line…hmmmphf !
6:25 pm on May 30th, 2010
Hey!… Everyday is a Revolution!…snort!… Brad Paisley is singing at the National Memorial Concert!…Wooo!…His voice is so wonderful…mmmm! ….’ Now you are my whole life, now you are my whole world… I thought I loved you then’… ..mmmm… What a great guy!… snort! … ‘I thought I loved you then’… woooooo! Brad sing it!…heh!…I just want to Woooo Wooo with him…heh! sigh!
6:41 pm on May 30th, 2010
Lots of music in Rio tonight. He must be enjoying the holiday weekend. Nice that you had lunch with Grandma today Rio. Did you get any Mexican food or did you have to make do with kibble?
AbbietheKitty (who is always interested in food.)
6:54 pm on May 30th, 2010
Memorial Day! …Always reaches deep into my soul and shows me things that I take for granted each and every day…snort!.. Things that have come at a very high cost… sniff!… Just little things like the roof over my head, my warm soft bed every night, my clean water bowl and the fact that I know I will get fed each and every day…grunt!
These things are not available to so many in this world right now… sob!.. Please, let us do the most we can, even to the point of sacrifice to help all the others in this world who do not have the privileges we do in this great country…gruff!
7:36 pm on May 30th, 2010
AK and Staff – Let's check with Melanie and Gracie!
Ladies, apparently we are going to throw Gracie a virtual baby shower!! Do you want to have it before or after? If we have it after the Big Day, then we'll know how many boy presents and how many girl presents to give.
Shall we have doggie food or people food or both?
8:37 am on March 1st, 2011
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