Bordingland

On Monday Daniel's class was assigned a social studies project to be turned in this Friday. His task is to invent a country. He has to come up with a name and a system of government for his country, write a pledge, design a flag and describe what the elements of the flag represent, list the officers of the country and their jobs, and come up with a list of laws. The report must have a cover on it, and neatness is 10 percent of the grade. This is an important consideration since Daniel's handwriting is usually pretty sloppy unless I make him write things slowly. It's an intriguing project, though somewhat advanced for first graders, I think. I know that I never had such a lengthy assignment when I was that age.

So as not to leave everything to the last minute, Daniel and I started working on his project last night.

"What do you want to name your country?" I asked.

He thought for a moment. "How about Bordingtown?"

There is a town a little south of here called Bordentown, which is where I think he got that name.

"Well, Bordingtown sounds like the name of a city, not a country. How about Bordingland?"

"OK."

"OK, then, So who do you think should run Bordingland? A president? Or maybe a group of people?"

"A king," answered Daniel, decisively.

"Well, all right," I said, thinking of a constitutional monarchy. "Who should help the king run the country?"

"The queen," Daniel answered, with a look on his face that plainly said, Who else?

"Well, how about a group of people? Like a council?"

"OK."

"And how are the council members chosen? Maybe the rest of the people should elect them."

"No, the king picks them."

My son, the absolute monarchist.

As I said to Tab, it's not really surprising. After all, our home is not a democracy, but a benevolent dictatorship with two leaders, Tab and me.

"It's more like a chess game," Tab countered. "The king can only take one step at a time, but the queen can move as far as she wants. "

"Yeah, well, the queen may be the most powerful, but the king is the most important piece!" I said. Which is probably why chess seems to make so much sense to Dans: it reflects his world.

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