During elementary/junior high school, I lived in Erie, PA (whose residents, by the way, would stand with mouth agape if they could see the teeny tiny amount of snow that has halted life in Our Little city tonight).  I was part of a band of cronies that were of the quintessential, formative-year friendship types and of whom I have many a fond memory.

One of these friends was a girl named Lisabeth, with whom I have recently begun to correspond again thanks to the interwebs. Thanks, Interwebs!  One thing about Lisabeth was (and is) that she was (and is) smart. Real smart. I mean, she understood science-type things with one eye tied behind her back.  Secretly, I was (and am) jealous of Lisa’s brains. How come she could be so smart, huh? I was supposed to be smart but she always one-upped me.  I always wanted to do better than her even though she never knew it and even though I never could. But, because of her smartness and because of my jealousy of her smartness, she was the impetus for me to secretly compete with her for good grades. And so, I owe many of my good grades in junior high to her.

Thanks, Lisabeth!