Applause

When I worked on the bookmobile, one morning a week Kathie and I went to a couple of sites on the edge of town. At one of these, we parked outside a day care center. I stayed on the bookmobile and took care of the adult patrons who came to check things out or return items, and Kathie went into the day care center to read the pre-schoolers a story. She had been a first grade teacher for a quarter of a century and was good at this.

The reactions of the kids varied a lot. Sometimes they were totally distracted or unruly. At other times they behaved quite well. When Kathie came back to the bookmobile, she would report on how things had gone.

One morning she was in near hysterics when she climbed through the door of the van.

I don't recall what story she had read them that morning, but they had been very attentive. One boy in particular, who was often a problem, hung on her every word.


When she finished and closed the book, he broke into applause and turned to his companions.

"Crap, everybody!" he shouted. "Crap!"

Fortunately they all applauded.