the “permission slip”

if you leave the classroom

you have to have a “permission slip”––

a bright yellow-colored, pre-printed sheet of paper

which will travel with you.

for example:

“this allows (blank) permission to use the restroom.”

(blank) is filled-in with your name.

your very own, personalized “permission slip.”

there were 23 kids in the classroom.

there were 6 kids in the hallway carrying “permission slips”

and another 7 standing at the urinals.

there were 2.5  million people in the United States.

there are billions of us in the world

and near a trillion stars in the home galaxy

although they said "Andromeda" is bigger.

as a 12 year resident on Earth, I took that as an insult.

estimated wait-time for an open urinal was anybody’s guess.

also, It was required that the “permission slip”

be returned to the classroom "un-folded" which

was quite an accomplishment while standing at a urinal.

Hugo A. Dubuque School