My First Love

Before there was my lovely wife, before there was Tina Fey, before there was even Sandy Todd (in Mrs. Clapham's kindergarten class, 1970). . .

There was Jaime.

And somewhere in my heart, Jaime will always be.

There is true beauty in this world.




(Correction: Steve first reunited with Jaime in 1975. So technically, Sandy Todd was my first love. I mean no disrespect to Sandy. I will always cherish times she let me chase her around the story carpet, or the glimpse of her belly-button as she hung upside down on the swingset. But Sandy was not bionic. Nor was she Sainde. Bionics and exotic spelling loom large in the memory.)

Lark, Nightingale, Bangin'

So maybe I shouldn't have put my 9th grade students in this position.

On their test over Romeo and Juliet, they had to identify a series of quotations. One of them takes place the morning after their wedding night. So how do 9th graders refer to how the young lovers had spent the night? On a test?

Here's the quote:
"Wilt though be gone? It is not yet near day. / It was the nightingale and not the lark. / That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear."

Here are the first portions of their answers:

"Romeo and Juliet just were married and are celebrating in Juliet's bed."

"Juliet says this to Romeo the after their marriage when Romeo has to leave because it is morning."

"After Juliet and Romeo have their night together."

"This quote is said by Juliet when Romeo is leaving in the morning."

"Juliet says this when she and Romeo wake up in Juliet's bed after he spent the night and Juliet doesn't want it to be morning because if it is he has to leave."

"Spoken to Romeo in Juliet's room before he leaves for Mantua."

"Juliet is talking to Romeo and not wanting Romeo to leave after spending the night together."

"This is Juliet speaking to Romeo. They were laying in bed and they heard a bird."

and this kid:

"Juliet says this after Romeo snuck into her room and they had sex."