A Memory of San Mateo

The other day we had fish sticks for dinner. Don't ask me why, but it prompted some memories. I think it had something to do with the fact that when he was a child fish sticks tasted like cardboard to Wayne. Some of them still may, but on the rare occasion when I buy them, I deliberately try to get high quality ones.

Anyway, maybe he associates fish sticks with San Mateo, or maybe San Mateo was in the news, but during that dinner Wayne recalled living there for several weeks. Their lease in Vallejo was up, and their visas for Korea hadn't arrived, so they had temporary housing in San Mateo. While there, Wayne started 4th grade. Four classes were arranged in a "pod" and you could hear everything going on in all four classes. Because of the ensuing chaos, Wayne hated school there.

He was happy to start over in Korea. Because of the delay, though, classes had already started. The teacher gave him a pile of homework the first day so he could get caught up, a pile so large it brought him to tears. However, he diligently worked late into the night and completed it all. His teacher's response the next morning was, "You didn't have to do it all in one day!" However, Wayne's glad he did, because he would have been even more behind if he hadn't.

That's the end of the memory. I guess we finished our fish sticks.