The record

I mentioned Mr. Pederson yesterday and I want to set the record straight on a couple of issues. The first is that I had Mr. Pederson in the mid-80s. There is no need to make me older than I am, but I thought if you didn't go to my school, it might be easier to picture him if you thought about the 70s.

Mr. Pederson was the nicest man and a good shop teacher. The proof of this is that I enjoyed shop. Thanks to him, I can proudly say that I actually finished a Tandy Leathercraft wallet, a small stepping stool (well, honestly, most of the credit should belong to my shop partner Kevin McCrory) and, in case of national emergency or something, I could draft by hand.

Secondly, I mean no insult to his hair. His hairstyle would have been a throwback in the 70s and certainly was in the 80s. It was large and elaborate and involved a lot of what we might call "product" today. It was probably Brylcreem or something. I have no idea. There was a curl in the center of his forehead. At any rate, it worked on Mr. Pederson, and I mean that sincerely.

In other news, I am making fruitcake. Why? I don't know -- as part of my practice of the ancient art of home economics. I want to see if I can. Right now I am macerating dried fruit in rum. How bad could that be?