Dorf:1 Angel: 0
I mean, you might think it’s the other way around and the angel comes out better than the dorf. Go here to the May 23, 2008 entry and tell me who you think comes out better in this literary exchange: William or his third grade teacher. (Two sentences! A two sentence post! A miracle of brevity!)
Okay, okay, a third sentence: I actually do read books, and I’ve updated my “reading” page up there at the top to prove it, and discovered at the very end of that update that I actually don’t like Hemingway’s early short stories (okay, I HATE them), and I’m mystified by that discovery, so pretty soon I’ll update that page and talk about that. (Whew.)
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Yes, I think the dorf came out better, and somewhat like an angel, himself. Smackdowns of the imagination are never very good. Too bad that the aura of political correctness blankets so much, including angelic teachers responding to imaginative little boys at Halloween. Isn’t that the point of little boys at Halloween: to be all gruesome and bloody and gross, pretending to be a ferocious creature that will whack you with a club if you don’t give them a yummy treat. (And then, of course, they say thank you as they move on to terrorize the next trick-or-treat locale because deep down they’re loveable little guys and they know their moms will whack them, at least metaphorically, if they aren’t polite!)
Oh my! A comment much longer than your post which really said it all. I should hit ‘delete’ instead of ’submit’. Thanks for sharing this BL. It really is lovely. I always want to pick up your sweet William and give him kisses when I read your posts about him.
Oh William wins hands down. (How’s that for brief?) You are a such a great parent! TJ
Unquestionably. Dorf wins, all without whacking a single soul.
Haha, what a great mini-post. And to have those moments in writing - I can see all the parents smiling at this. My little “angel” (6-year old ridgeback) has not yet learned that violence is inappropriate. Perhaps she needs an angel to gently remind her
Pete, There’s violence and then there’s violence. We see both around here, but I’m okay with the version that’s in print.
Word-wacking, that’s what he’s all about here, I’m pretty sure.
TJ — I don’t know about that. You know what the truth about being a parent is? I just really like it when my children stand up to people and have their say. That the person they stand up to and have their say with is most often me does drive me nuts, but I also admire it too.
Oh Cam, I’m glad you submitted that. I’ll print it out and give it to the dorf when he has children of his own.
xo, L
so this is what i have to look forward to.
i thought a child writing “wack” was kind of cute, though i wonder what kind of “violence” the teacher was referring to…i mean, everybody knows that wack in the dorf tongue means “kiss.”
Yup. You have this to look forward to. And more. Grand Theft Auto 4 is the current issue among those who are twelve in our house. I don’t even want to go into that sort of wacking.
And thank you for the dorf language translation. I’m not going to ask where you acquired that skill, okay? I know you’re still getting over the family trip odyssey and might be too tired to get into it.
Le Dorf. And I was quite disappointed that Ms. Chang didn’t reveal what her Halloween costume would be.
Le Dorf indeed, Mari. Ms. Chang did in fact reveal her Halloween costume in a later piece of correspondence with William, which I did not include here. William really likes her (and so do I, this small violation of authorial freedom notwithstanding), because she is kind, and objective, and enthusiastic and walks the children over to the UC Berkeley campus, a place that is only half a mile, but a world away to many of them, so she can show them that this kind of thing belongs to them too. The Dorf appreciates that sort of enthusiasm, being an enthusiast himself.
Dorf wins!!
my expertise in the dorf language came from repeated viewings of “star trek: the next generation.” i understand repeated readings of “the lord of the rings” will also bequeath upon you a working knowledge of dorf, though you won’t get the colloquialisms.
Dorf, dorf, dorf!
They pound their clubs and their voices rise, as they chant, in dorfish, the language they’ve learned from watching a lot of television or maybe reading a book or two, “dorf, dorf, dorf…..”
Why DO the teachers try to take them on? They really ought to know by now that they are punching above their weight, to use a hugely inappropriate metaphor. William absolutely cracks me up. Stellar dorf response!