I watched "My Dog Skip" the other night because it was on HBO and Cam had told me way back when that it was a good movie to watch with the kids.

Plus it has Frankie Muniz in it, which is good, but even better is Kevin Bacon as his father. I don't know what it is about Kevin Bacon, but I am compelled to watch him in every movie he's ever made. I think he is a very skilled actor. I am a fan.

Plus it also had Diane Lane in it, and she was good in "Lonesome Dove," which is a book I think I might enjoy reading again, and it also had Owen Wilson in it, and gosh, he is cute too. Who else... Oh yeah, Clint Howard. Got to watch Clint whenever he's on screen. Cannot not think of "Gentle Ben" when I see him. I guess that's the price you pay for childhood stardom. Ron will always, always be Opie.

Anyway, the Skip movie has this really cute Jack Russell terrier in it and a bad guy whacks the dog with a shovel at one point, and you're not quite sure if the dog is going to die on the operating table or not. I won't wreck the ending for all of my blog devotees who haven't yet seen the movie, but suffice it to say that "My Dog Skip" is a certified tear-jerker.

I need to see something not sentimental right now, but not the new Transformers movie, either. I need a good Western. Something with my other all-time fave, Jeff Bridges. We watched "Bad Company" last week and enjoyed that quite a bit.

It's 11:35 p.m. and there's a mockingbird outside tonight that is chirping away for all its worth. [Question: when you say "For all its worth," are you saying for all that it is worth? Or all of its worth as in the possessive use of its? I do not know right this second.]

But what gives with these crazy night-time songfests? It actually makes me feel slightly crazy.

So this is where my mind goes when school is out for the summer. It has been very nice to get my office organized the past few weeks, to weed out the extra paper and put things in their proper places (Wendy would be proud, I think). I still have a lot to put away, and I want to be intelligent about my groupings. I guess I need a drawer for Students, past and present, and then Procedural Things, and then some space for my heirloom lesson plans (just in case).

I did discover a cache of Post-it Notes, and that made me happy. Shiny and wrapped in cellophane, the whole deal. I really do have a nice little office. It's kinda cool. Plus I also really like my co-workers, my "colleges," as Scott used to say. Corny but made me smile each time.

"Hello, colleges," he'd say as he entered the room. I don't know if anyone else was charmed by that.

Once again I am grateful for the existence of my little school. And Kevin Bacon.