Lotioning and "Tucking" in Class

[Editor's note: This post has been revised into an open letter to my student who I (playfully) embarrassed in class today:]

I apologize for embarrassing you in class, Erin. Your phone rang, a sassy salsa ring, not unlike BatManuel's from The Tick.

It rang during in-class work time so it wasn't a big deal to begin with. Also, your blood-rushed cheeks expressed the perfect amount of embarrassment. I've heard horror stories from other teachers about their students handling phone calls with far less class and humility, actually answering the phone and having a conversation, the teacher glaring but unsure whether to be angry or amazed.

The salsa jig and your obvious embarrassment were too much to ignore; I had to have fun with it. You did answer the phone, but I could tell you did it just to stop the ringing and to tell the caller you'd call back later. But I couldn't resist mocking shock and injustice that you answered. Then I said, "It hangs up the phone or else it gets the hose again," which resulted in a round of uneasy I-can't-believe-he-just-said-that-in-class laughter. You all knew the reference--The Silence of the Lambs, of course--or at least you knew it from The Family Guy, from an episode in which Stewie says the real line: "It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again." Besides, the line and scene have become pop culture trivia.

I [heart] Bill.

Then I remembered the song "Lotion" by The Greenskeepers which was written about the movie; and since I'm an attention whore, I began to sing it. Of course, none of you understood that reference. So I told you all about the song and the video and promptly supplied a link for it on The Mothership Connection.

I remember the day that Poats came home to our Lavish Atwood estate at The Quads. Sire an Canham followed close behind, singing the song. They hastened me to a computer (which wasn't far since I lived with three Computer Science majors) and fired up the video. My favorite things about it is how well the lyrics match up with the scene and, of course, the money shot at the end: The Tuck.

Anyway.

Again, I apologize, Erin. You didn't deserve my singing.

Wow. What a great open letter. From The Tick to The Tuck.

Mace... out