Hip To Be Square

I teach teen-wonders at 6 in the AM most mornings. This morning we were talking about symbols and parables, and such. So I had these four symbols written on the board, I needed to make one up I knew they wouldn't know so I put this.

See, you don't know what it is either.

Anyway I was down to the last symbol and I needed one that I was sure they would know, so the first thing that came to mind was the Superman symbol, a weak choice, and thinking back now, the obvious icon would have been Mickey Mouse but what do you expect at 6 am? Anyway Superman would have worked, but for whatever reason I thought "hey what about Super Grover? I love Super Grover!" They'll totally get that!" Wrong. "and they'll think that's funny" Also, Wrong. So, off I go drawing my super G on the little lightning bolt thinking it's this great idea.


I was right about the first symbol, no clue. Problem was I got the same thing on the last symbol...blank stares. I said, "you know guys, Sesame Street?", Response, "Sesame Street?", Me, "yeah, you know, Grover! Super Grover! [pathetically attempt simulated flying with arms outstretched overhead, doing the little voice he makes (kind of like Tarzan) when he crashes down from the sky]", again I get blank stares. Ok, moving on. And I was stunned once again by the generation gap I'm facing here, and how hilariously, and definitively uncool I had just proven myself to be. I mean if they only knew.

It was only fitting that as Pants and I got in the car to drive home, this song came on the radio. She wrinkled her forehead, scrunched up her cute little nose and asked, "who sings this?" Without any hesitation, not even looking up I said matter of factly, "Hewey Lewis and the News", and proceeded to laugh out loud. She said that exasperated "what?" that teenagers say where they don't pronounce the "t" and I explained that I was laughing because I knew the answer to her question. "Oh" she replied, she didn't get it. Which is fine, neither do I, I just know that whenever I hear that song I will forever see Michael J Fox throwing on that life preserver of a jacket, jumping in his car with wings, and flying off to some place where they don't "need" roads, or Super Grover apparently...the future.