my 'nephew' eric sent me a letter for his 2nd grade literature project. actually, his mom does a lot of his homework, so she sent it to me, on his behalf.

aside, 7 years ago i got the same letter from his sister, rachelle, who is 7 years older than eric.

moving on, the letter introduces a character "flat stanley", who was crushed flat by a bulletin board. he learns that being flat is not so bad because he can slide under doors and do other cool things, like, be send via postal mail. hence, flat stanley came to visit me in philadelphia. he was accompanied by a little survey with questions about my city and what he should wear next time he visits.

the question is, "next time flat stanley should wear" ___, "because the climate is"____.

dunno if this is considered inappropriate for second graders, but i wrote "flat stanley should wear philadelphia sports jerseys because the climate is hostile to other sports fans".

the letter also said, "feel free to send any photos or postcards". instead, i thought i would pick up a philadelphia sports team tee or jersey and send it back with the letter.

i made it over to walmart for the first time, thinking that i could pick up some other stuff. ann arbor meijer is better than south philly walmart. i was disappointed to say the least.

besides that, i spent 10 minutes staring at the phillies/eagles/sixers gear. i think the old school 76ers logo is pretty hot. and i also like the simplicity of the phillies' P. however, as i was contemplating the eagles, i couldn't bear to don an eagles' jersey to my nephew in bears' country. and as much as i like the sixers 76, i couldn't fathom giving it to a child who i would want to cheer for my childhood team, the bulls. i'm not sure where eric's allegiance lies baseball-wise, but it just didn't seem right.

so, chicago sports, you win in my heart. philly, i tried. but, i need more time.

finally, i picked up a kids' biography of benjamin franklin. hope it impresses his teacher!

poor eric. mom is doing all his homework. and auntie is trying to win brownie points on his behalf with his teacher.