Girl : Dad, I need a few supplies for school, and I was wondering if . . . .

Dad : Yeah. There are a couple of pencils and an eraser in the kitchen drawer, I think.

Girl : Dad, I’m in eight grade now, and I need REAL supplies for my demanding classes.

Dad : Oh, so you need a ruler too?

Girl : Dad, I need some high-tech tech stuff like a calculator, a Palm Pilot, and a laptop computer.

Dad : Uh. I didn’t have any of that when I was in middle school, and I did just fine.

Girl : Yeah, and they weren’t any cars either, WERE there. [ Hey ] And things are just more progressive now.

Dad : Well, we can rule out the hand pilot [ Palm Pilot, Dad ]. Whatever, AND the computer . . . unless mom lets you sell the car. And as for the adding machine [ Calculator ]. Yeah, I think mine from college is kicking around here somewhere.

Girl : Dad, I need a calculator for geometry, and I have heard you can download free software from the Internet.

Dad : Great. My daughter will be playing video games in geometry class.

Girl : Dad.

Dad : Okay. How much is this thing going to cost me?

Girl : Well, I saw it at the store for only $99, WITH a $10 mail-in rebate , or you could buy it online.

Dad : Oh. Do they throw in a few aspirin so your father can recover from sticker shock ?

Girl : Dad. Please!!!. Everyone has one [ I’ve heard that before. ] and you always say you want me to excel in school, and I’ll chip in $10 of my own, and I’ll even clean up my room [ Hey!! ].

Dad : Hmmm, 100 bucks .

Dad : Well, you’ll be supporting me in my old age, so, I guess so. When do you need it?

Girl : Now, right now. [ Now! ] Mom’s already waiting in the car for us. [ Huh? ] She said she would buy me an ice cream if I could talk you into buying it for me today.