Stand, You've Been Sitting Much Too Long. There's a Permanent Crease In Your Right and Wrong

Stinky and some of her friends at a basketball game.

Last Friday I started reading By the Iowa Sea, by Joe Blair. I was talking to Stinky about it when I got home from work and told her it was about a man who had a son who was profoundly autistic and how hard and wonderful all at the same time it was and how it affected their family.

She said, "Hmm. That reminds me of something that happened at lunch today..." She went on to tell me that a girl with Down Syndrome came over to the end of their table, where some freshman girls were sitting. The girl asked them if she could sit with them, and the freshmen told her there was no room - even though there obviously was. Stinky and her friend were horrified and followed the girl to a table where she sat alone and started crying. They asked her if she would like to sit with them and she told them, "Yes. That she was too scared to even ask the seniors..." Stinky said she was a very sweet girl, who told them all about her life and the things she loved.

Then, Stinky and her friend asked one of the very large and imposing football player guys to go over and have a talk with the freshman girls, because they thought it would be more effective than if they said something. The football player went over and told the freshmen girls that what they did wasn't cool and that they should be ashamed of themselves. I suppose if peer pressure can be used for evil, it's nice to at least see kids trying to use it for good too...