Bewildered by: The way my brain suddenly stalled out when I attempted to write the word "biscuit." I was trying to find a certain recipe, and I typed the word "bisquit" into a search engine. That didn't look right, so I tried "bisket." Yikes! I knew that wasn't right, either, but for the life of me I couldn't think of how to spell it. I finally resorted to using the spell checker in my text editor to get the correct spelling.

Not Watching: Sports Night, which appears to have been yanked off the schedule for sweeps month, alas.

Reading: I Know Some Things: Stories about Childhood by Contemporary Writers, edited by Lorrie Moore. Margaret DeAngelis recommended this collection to me, and I'm glad she did.

To Catch a Thief

One day last week, I noticed that Daniel was wearing a black, plastic Darth Vader watch.

"Daniel, where did you get that watch?"

"For Christmas."

"Really? I don't remember you getting that. Where's it been between Christmas and now?"

"In my toybox. I found it there."

Hmmm.

I asked Tab if he remembered Daniel's getting such a watch for Christmas or for some other occasion, but he couldn't.

"I suppose it is possible," I said. "Maybe Miss Jean or one of the other neighbors gave it to him, and he lost it soon afterward, and we forgot all about it. Everyone knows how much Daniel loves Darth Vader."

Tab and I agreed to give Daniel the benefit of the doubt.

Every once in a while over the next few days, I would ask Daniel about it, and every time I got the same answer. I was almost ready to let the matter rest...until a few days later when he came home with a Power Rangers bracelet.

"Where did you get that?"

"Same thing."

"For Christmas?"

The incredulous tone in my voice must have made Daniel realize that his story was not going to fly this time. At first he nodded, then he broke down and confessed: "It's Michael's."

Pressing my advantage, I asked him once again about the Darth Vader watch, and he finally admitted it belonged to Danny.

When Tab heard the news, he was more angry at Daniel for lying than for stealing. Tab abominates lies and has always stressed to the boys that they must tell the truth to us at all times. "You may get in trouble," he says, "but less trouble than you would be in if you lie about what you did."

So Daniel was punished for lying and for stealing, and I hoped the matter was settled. Today, however, I found several colorful mechanical pencils in his backpack. When I asked him about them, he confessed right away that they belonged to Patrick. At least he learned something from last week.

When we asked Daniel why he took these things, he answered, "Because they are cool."

I can understand why he might covet the other kids' belongings, Danny's and Patrick's in particular. Both of his classmates are only children, with about a zillion toys and gadgets.

Still, it is not as though Daniel doesn't grasp the concept of property and ownership. He is very territorial when it comes to his own possessions, quick to stop his brothers from playing with his stuff.

We talked to him about how he would feel if Danny and Patrick decided to take his stuff home with them. He admitted he wouldn't like it very much.

Up till now Daniel has always been a truthful child. I hope this is just an abberation or some phase he's passing through.

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