Cognitive Dissonance: When people recognize inconsistent views within themselves, they tend to alter their thinking to remove the conflict. A mundane example is the tendency of people to value a product more highly after they buy it. It's hard for people to think of a product as worthless, and think of themselves as smart consumer at the same time, so they often come to think of their purchases as being worth more than they would if they hadn't bought the item.  ..Clara Moskowitz

y ninth grade English teacher reminded me of Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver.  I swear she got up early and practiced her icy stare every morning before school.  She seemed to hate kids and I had to wonder why she chose teaching as a profession.  But then again, it was a rough school and for all I know she was a nice person when away from that place.

     At the beginning of each school year, we were given our textbooks.  We were to inspect them and then sign our names on the inside of the book's cover.  My name would be the 14th.  English doesn't change all that much, so new books were a rarity.