December 20, 1999.

"In the dead white hours in Zurich staring into a stranger's pantry across the upshine of a street-lamp, he used to think he wanted to be good, he wanted to be kind, he wanted to be brave and wise, but it was all pretty difficult. He wanted to be loved, too, if he could fit it in."

- f. scott fitzgerald, tender is the night

"Honesty is the best policy and spinach is the best vegetable."

- popeye the sailor man

Today in health class, we watched videos on drug use & peer pressure. One of these was called "Only Jelloheads Use Drugs." Smirk. The older & more debauched I get, the less I'm able to watch these well-meaning films with a straight face. Remember kids, the pusher doesn't like you for who you are. The second one was a bit better...the film makers seemed to have a genuine sense of humour rather than a paralyzing amount of earnestness. In this second film, they advertised a "shocking" new series: "She turned down drugs and was still popular. She turned down drugs and found...better things to do!!!"

I suppose that means she retained most of her brain cells into adulthood, and was able to write a coherent...er...um...spoon.

After the films, the class was asked to make a comic strip emphasizing two things: saying no and deflecting peer pressure. Instead, I made a comic strip dramatizing February 11, 1997 (That Tuesday) with myself & Tiger Lily as minimalist cartoons. I called it "One Stupid Decision." It was loads of fun, and the story fragment works quite well as a cautionary tale. There's nothing better than scathing confession played out in stick figure drama.

Unless it's marital disputes played out in handpuppets.