Toot! Toot! Make Way for the Braggin' Wagon!

Toot! Toot! Beep! Beep!

Sorry for all you disco aficionados, but this is not a tribute to Donna Summer. Watch your toes! The Braggin' Wagon is headed your way. Hop on for a little ride. Don't cost nothin'. And if you fall off the Wagon, nobody is going to stage an intervention.

Genius has been away at Missouri Boys State for the last 11 days, working in the IT department as a way of giving back to the program. He's not doing it for the money. It pays a stipend of $100 for the entire session. Which, if you are mathematically inclined, figures out to less than ten dollars a day. Sure, he had a free shared room, and delicious meals from the cafeteria that also fed the Boys State citizenss, but he had to pay his own way there and back. He will do a little better than breaking even after paying for gas. Oh! Wait a minute! Genius will do a LOT better than break even!

Yesterday, as he was leaving, he called to tell me that he had been awarded the Missouri Boys State Staff Scholarship. He says it is a one-time award of $1500. Not too shabby! I was telling my best old ex-teaching buddy, Mabel, by text last evening, that I imagine it's more difficult for a staffer in the IT department to win, what with being behind the scenes and not out front like the counselors. Genius confirmed later that he is the FIRST IT staffer ever to win the Staff Scholarship. Kudos to my little techy. His photo is HERE, on this page, without our Thevictorian surname, and not in order of where he is standing. Let's just say he is proudly sporting his staff shirt, ID badge, and white shorts.

I told Mabel that Genius was now back at "home" in the city, doing laundry and probably fighting with his landlord's dog over the last slice of Totino's Pizza. Mabel summed it all up with: "Dog 1, Genius 0." Genius was shocked at her blatant pronouncement, though he was pleased with her congratulations for a job well done. Genius also said our county has been well-represented by the staffers, what with his cross-county rival winning the Staff Scholarship last year while acting as a counselor.

A few miles away, The Pony has been attending Missouri Scholars Academy on the Mizzou campus. Today was Family Day. Hick, and The Pony's niece, who is only a two years younger than The Pony, went to visit. I stayed home to avoid a possible exsanguination at the hands of Hick at the wheel for a three-hour drive. Hick reported that he took The Pony to a local park, where they toured some caves, and then went out for pizza. They attended programs at 1:00 and 3:00. At 4:00, Hick called to say he was leaving, and that he thought The Pony was ready for them to go. He informed me, upon interrogation, that The Pony seemed to be getting along swimmingly with other Scholars, and that several had called his name to greet him at the park. He's a regular Cheers Norm, our little Pony. Hick also said that The Pony mentioned that he had formed actual friendships with about 15 people while he has been at the Academy. Unless you know The Pony, you may not grasp the significance of this interpersonal interaction.

Oh, and one more thing...The Pony has spent the last week keeping company with...wait for it...drumroll please...are you ready for this...A GIRL! He has even forgotten to call me many nights because, as he put it, "I was talking to a girl, and that distracted me, and then we had our house meeting, and then I had my shower, and now it is time for lights out in five minutes." That's his story, and he's stickin' to it.

WAIT! That's not what I'm bragging about. Hick said the 3:00 program was a scholar bowl competition, and that The Pony's house was competing in the finals, and that THEY WON! Yeah. Out of 19 houses. Braggin' rights to The Pony for being on the smartest team at smart camp. HooRah! Never mind that he didn't answer any questions during the final competition. He had to do something right to get on the team for all the preliminary rounds. As he told Hick, "That kid from our rival school who competes against me at our school scholar bowl is smart, and I am smart, but up here, we're nothing special." Oh, yes he is! He's very special to me. We had that talk before he left that he's not always going to be the best. I think he's handling it well. The Pony has come out of his shell. No pictures of The Pony, but if you have high-speed internet, you can find him on this page, in a red shirt and plaid shorts, playing conga drums and "dancing."

Whew! All that braggin' has worm me out. But at least it's out of my system for a few weeks.