You may not hear from me again until Tuesday morning because tomorrow, at 4:30 a.m., I am embarking on a whirlwind trip to Boston with 10 giddy 8th graders and 7 other parents. We will be riding the Amtrak, taking the subway, exploring the science museum, going on a whale watch, eating strange food at restaurants, cramming uncomfortably into hotel rooms, and swimming in the hotel pool. My assigned task, as Person Who Understands How Urban Mass Transit Systems Work, is to figure out how to transport 18 silly country mice from one event to the next. I'll be sure to tell you how that works out. And who knows?--I may have a chance to share a few stream of consciousness observations while the giggly girls under my command are busily watching Glee or putting on nail polish or whatever it is that 8th-grade girls do in hotel rooms. Also, I'll be eating at McDonald's for the first time in at least 30 years. I'm sort of depressed to think that my long streak will be over, but even I draw the line at getting up at 3 a.m. to make breakfast for 18 people.