I just finished performing in a musical revue that we worked on for six months and so I am ready for a little change of pace. I thought this might be a good time to pull out a little humor from one of my young adult books.

For background, these two books, A Boy’s First Diary (2007) and Surviving Seventh Grade (2013), both involve the same characters and are written from the perspective of ten and thirteen-year-olds as they grew up in the 1950’s.

Since tomorrow is an election day in New Hampshire, it seems like a particularly appropriate time to pull up one of the pieces regarding politics as seen by a thirteen-year-old. This is from Surviving Seventh Grade.

Glenn K. Currie

 

Government Work

 

Mrs. McGann is our Civics teacher.

She has been teaching us how government works.

We’ve been learning about checks and balances

And the three parts of government.

 

She says this keeps government

From acting too hastily,

And makes the politicians

Think harder about the laws they pass.

 

I asked Dad what he thought

About checks and balances.

He said he and Mom

Talk about that all the time.

 

He said most politicians don’t think

And neither do the voters.

People go to Washington

When they can’t get a real job.

 

Mrs. McGann says my Dad was just joking.

They are in charge of writing the country’s checks,

And making the laws we live by.

I still don’t understand who makes it all balance.