Auschwitz, California

I was talking on the phone tonight when I heard a noise behind me that made me turn my head. Erin had gotten some milk out and was about to pour it into a cup when she saw me looking at her. She froze. "I'm thirsty," she explained, with a deer-in-headlights look on her face. "I'll just have a little bit. And then I'll rinse the cup in the sink and put it back!" Her voice had the pleading, desperate tone of someone trying to avoid trouble. "Uh, okay," I responded, puzzled at why she'd be so nervous about being 'caught' pouring herself some milk. "You can have a drink. What do you think I'm running here, a concentration camp?" She giggled but didn't respond, and I realized that of course she had no idea what that was. I tried to explain my joke. "A concentration camp was like a great big jail where people had to work all day, had hardly anything to eat or drink, and a lot of them got sick." Without hesitation, her eyes lit up and she exclaimed, "Yep! That's what you're running! This is a concentration camp! You always make us WORK!"

All I can say is, I'd really expect this house to be cleaner, then....