I was so close. I was literally

inches away from the knife. Though suffering from a fever, I was barely

half a foot from the door when my mother stopped me. "Where do you

think you're going?!," she asked, halting my steps to the bus stop.

Ah, the knife, you're probably

wondering about the knife. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades

(Did he just say that!?) and I didn't make it. My mom kept me home from

school and thus I finished one day away from perfect attendance my fourth

grade year. And the teacher only gave knives to the boys who had perfect

attendance.

That's right, you heard it

correct. When I was in the fourth grade, if you had perfect attendance

for the year, the teacher gave you a knife (the girls got something different).

Ya think times have changed a little?