Dinnertime Conversations.

    I don't know about you, but dinnertime conversations can really be interesting!  Hon usually isn't home for dinner, so it's me and the kids.  Because I'm the mature person at the table, I try to keep our conversations to certain topics like world peace, government, and chocolate.  Try as I might, it seems like every conversation ends up with a discussion on who threw up in the cafeteria, what someone called another person on the bus, and farting.  Seems like with boys farting is and always will be a hot topic.
    When it came time for me to ask Young'un about homework and what he's doing in school he said they are doing a short report on inventors.  They were given a list of inventors and their inventions and had to choose one.  He said he chose Howard Raper, who according to Young'un invented the dental x-ray.  He was upset because kids were teasing him about the man's last name.  Of course, my infinite words of wisdom were to tell him to ignore them and do his best on the report.   A person's last  name is just that, part of their identity.  Then I asked what other inventors were on the list.  He said the guy that invented the toilet, but no one chose to do a report on him.  Being me, I had no idea who that was, so not thinking further of it I asked.  Figures!  The man's last name was "Crapper."  Of course that brought up a whole slew of jokes and sayings by Eldest and the Kid.  Now I must say that's not a word I tend to have in my vocabularly, but in this case it was hard not to come up with a few goodies myself...in my head.  I'm the mom after all.  Young'un was not impressed and left the table annoyed at our complete lack of respect for an inventor of such a highly used item.  
    I want to take this time to publicly apologize to Young'un for laughing at the toilet inventor jokes his brothers came up with.  It was unavoidable.  I couldn't help myself.  I really didn't mean to laugh until tears came to my eyes.  I promise next time I go in the bathroom I will show some self-respect and thank the man that invented such an important item.  In fact, next time you use the bathroom, please say a word of thanks to Thomas Crapper for his invention.  It may help redeem me even further.  Now, back to that inventor you have...Howard Raper did not invent the actual dental x-ray.  I looked it up.  He invented the bitewings, those obnoxiously large things the dental hygenist is bound and determined to fit into my dainty mouth even though they are too big so an x-ray can be taken.  Smiling & Waving, Sharon