There's a Sticky Hand on My Ceiling
There’s a sticky hand on my ceiling. You know, one of those cartoon-like hands that seems to have 5 fingers and no thumb? Sticky hands come in assorted colors with long stretchy tails—perfect for eleven-year-old boys to swing and fling around the classroom. To be clear, I gave one to each of the girls too, but it is the boys who have eagerly unwrapped them, quickly tossing aside the attached Valentine that reads, “Let’s stick together!” Now the boys are up out of their seats, heart-shaped lollipops in their mouths, swinging their sticky hands around the room, experimenting with the yo-yo quality of the elastic tail and the stickiness of the rubbery digits. Did I mention that I have seventeen boys in my class? It was just a matter of time before one swung a sticky hand up in the air and—Thwack!—it landed on my ceiling. The ceiling in my classroom is made of those classic 2’ x 2’ tiles set in a suspended checkerboard grid. Originally, they were made with asbestos, but now they’re