This week I have come to the conclusion that my innocence is lost forever.

One of my co-workers asked me on Tuesday, "Do you know what a chipper is?". I was quiet for a moment, trying to let my imagination run wild, all the while thinking, "Lord only knows ...".

When I finally gave up, she said, "It's one of those things that you put a potatoe inside, pull the lever and it cuts it into french fries".

"Oh ... a chipper. Yeah, I know what a chipper is ..."

Mock me if you will, but I guess it is the company I keep at work, and also "the times, they are a' changing".

I know that if someone asked my mom to come to a "lipstick party", she would make sure there was plenty of money in her purse to spend on Mary Kay or AVON. This is the woman who once told me that one of her students had a pet cockroach, because another student had come up to her to tell her that he had a "roach" in his pocket.

Her answer?

"That's fine, as long as he doesn't take it out until recess time".