I usually go through my kids' backpacks everyday to see what is what with homework, calendars, etc, and today I pulled out a flier for the elementary school's annual "Reflections" contest. I said to Garron, "Hey! Why don't you enter the Reflections contest this year?" And he looked at me with all of the world-weariness of a fourth-grader. "Mom," he sighed. "I'm not going to enter that contest." He shook his arms with disgust. "It has a theme -- 'I Can Make a Difference.' Isn't that the stupidest thing you have ever heard?"

Oh, he is so our son. Except, really he is more Danny's son, in this case. When I was a kid I would have been all over that Reflections contest. I would have figured out a great way to incorporate the theme! Like maybe I would have written a killer essay that would have made the judges cry over my thoughtful ideas to end world hunger or save the whales, etc. And then when, as usual, I lost and the prize was awarded to some adorable little blond girl who had made a neat diorama out of popsicle sticks, I would have crashed in despair and lamented the unfairness of Life. But, no, Garron is above all of that. Thank goodness.

And now indulge me in showing off a bit of Garron's writing. He is "starting a book," he told me. It is entitled, "The Dark Brotherhood Chronichels" (His spelling, and I wish that you could see his funky gothic penmanship.) And it begins with "Chapter One: Midnight Havoc":

The snow, glittering like diamonds in the shimmering moon. The wolf howls, like sirens screaming out in the night. The cold, like a fire devouring anything in it's path. The mountains, like giant ice sculptures looking at the city of Zadillian.

How cool is that? FIRST PLACE!