Sometimes you need a good whack in the head...

Thinking about Tracey's funny situation...

During my Senior year of high school I was struggling with my fourth year of Russian in anticipation of a trip to the Soviet Union over Thanksgiving. Ed Miller, my teacher, spent a great amount of time that fall going over a variety of phrases that we might encounter during our visit. I sat in class each day, listening, practicing my Russian to English translation and learning. (Or so I thought).

Twelve weeks into the year I found myself on the Moscow subway system packed in like a sardine with a bunch of Soviet citizens who had differing opinions than myself on the use of deodorant. I felt lucky to get the last seat available. Sitting smugly, I smiled at my friends who were left standing. Suddenly my moment of glory was interrupted by a whack on my head. I looked up to see an elderly woman winding up her bag for one more blow as she yelled at me in Russian. Not surprisingly, my translation skills let me down but my common sense took over and I got up to give her the seat. It wasn't until I stood up that I read the words plastered over my former seat. They looked familiar. Where from? Oh yea, we had that in class the week before. "These seats reserved for elderly and disabled riders."

Moral of the story? Sometimes the learning is taking place...sometimes you need a good whack in the head to get the connection.