Last night I let the kids stay up late to watch Saturday Night Live. I could barely stay awake, but hey, a promise in the land of parenthood is a promise.

They had a wonderful time. Both their dad and I are NPR junkies, so it's no suprise that the kids are fairly steeped in politics. Although I do recall Mr C complaining that when Ms. DQ is in the car, she gets to listen to rock music. Mr. C, on the other hand, is confined in the rear, where he must listen to talk shows and newscasts.

I didn't realize how much they had picked up until Colin decided to take our videocam and create a commercial.

His friend T grabbed a few of my weights. As he tried manfully to loft them, the voiceover said (I paraphrase) "Weighed down by debt and bad credit? Call *Chuck* America. He can help you."

I have to admit I was impressed. But then I asked my little director how he meant to help those who had fallen into debt. "I'm doing a commercial, mom- I'm not running a business" said Mr. C.

This observation seemed all too true to life. Only the guys doing the commercials did pretend to be running a business.