A truly sad day: my large green plastic alligator died yesterday. He fell on the floor and broke his fat, plastic head.
He has been with me for 6 years, having been given to me in 2009 by my friend Tammy's daughter in Moorhead, Minnesota. He has worked hard in my many classes, and has appeared in many blog entries.
His head is severely damaged, and he can no longer bite children. Perhaps this is for the best. On a spontaneous whim, I had one of my writing classes write letters of condolence. They were quite touching:
Dear silly Alligator, how are you feeling. I'm so happy to heard you got hurt. You are so ugly, but now you are uglier. Your ayes are very big, but your face is very big. Your face not match. I hope you do cosmetic sugary [surgery]. I know you don't have girlfriend. You have to handsome andy ou have to diet, your weigh is 68kg. Your age is 12, but you are so fat. You have to eat vegetables. Don't be sad by my advice. It is very important for yourself. I think I'm so kindness friend. From Rena.
Here is a picture – you can see the large crack in his head. The hinge is also broken inside. He is unrepairable.
In another class, we had a moment of silence – this was the students' suggestion, not mine.
[daily log: walking, 6 km]