Wednesday, Nov. 06, 2002 | 8:58 pm

We still don�t officially have a governor here in AZ. The absentee ballots are still being counted. There are about 150,000 ballots that must be checked, verified, stamped, period, no erase! If you remember that phrase from grade school...you are like me, a little ancient. Today in sa-land�s diary, she described the old, old poll worker in very funny terms. Read it.

This morning, early, my brother the Podiatrist called. He is a morning person. He asked how the toe was. I said, �OK.� Then he told me why he had really called. My cousin and her husband had been found dead, apparently from suicide, in their SLC home. It was her father, my Uncle Merold, who just passed away last month. What a shock! Again. my thought returned to the fact that I didn't really know this part of the family well. Brother could not weasel any details out of the Utah family, but he suspects that cousin and hubby might have OD�d on some sort of drugs. I can�t even imagine what her mother, sister, and two brothers are feeling.

We are going great guns in the nut tree with our literature study of Jan Brett. All the little squirrels brought back their internet permission forms, signed and sealed. The parents even provided an e-mail address so they could all design an e-mail greeting card from the janbrett.com site and send it off. They are all very excited. We were also discussing her art work, which is exquisite in all her books. One child said, �The pictures look old.� I asked why? Another replied, �It is because she uses shadows, and dark colors.� Pretty astute for 6 years old!

The story we read today was called Fritz and the Beautiful Horses. It was about an old village that would only allow �beautiful� horses within the walls of their village . Little Fritz was short and stout, with a wild mane. He was shunned by the citizens of the town, because they didn't consider him beautiful. One day the citizens were riding out beyond the walls of the village. They were trying to teach their children to ride and jump on these grand, giant steeds. Little Fritz was ignored and shunned. The children were afraid of these giant horses. None of the children wanted to learn to ride and jump. Soon it was time to return to the village. They were all crossing over an ancient stone bridge when it began to crack. The citizens were stuck on one side, while the children were on the other side. Not one of the gallant steeds would risk falling or getting wet to return through the stream below to rescue the children. None of the noble steeds would go but little Fritz. He carefully went across the stream, over and over again, returning all the children safely to their parents. The citizens were so grateful, that little Fritz became the most beautiful of all horses The children learned to ride and jump on Fritz from that time on.

...A very sweet adaptation of �the ugly duckling� story. I wish that people could look more to the inner attributes and strengths of their fellows instead of making determinations by only the superficial. I need to practice what I preach, more often than not.

catsnapples~ in first grade and at life

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