Towards the end of the summer for some reason I remembered Get Smart, the tv show, and how much I had enjoyed watching it as a child. Consequently we introduced our children to Get Smart. As I imagined they would, they found it very amusing and kept asking for more. After eight or so episodes we are taking a break, but the damage has been done. There are new phrases in their repetoire. I have often used, “Good thinking, 99,” knowing that they children had no idea what I was talking about. Now they do.

B6 has incorporated Maxwell Smart’s lines in a rather unexpected way. They keep popping up during his math lessons! When reaching a familiar type of question he comes out with, “Ahh, my old friend, Complete the number pattern”.

Or when he needs a bit of assistance I might prompt him with a question like, “What are we counting by here?”

To which he replies,”I’d like to handle this myself, if you don’t mind. Now, what are we counting by here?”

Perhaps when he gets a wrong answer he will start using, “Missed it by that much.”