Mrs. P told the story of how it had taken seven days for George Washington to travel from his home in Mount Vernon to New York City, the site of his inauguration. Along the way, people gathered along the route to cheer on the man who was to become the country's first president. "Interestingly, once in New York City,Washington had to wait another week before the inauguration could take place. That's because Congress spent the week arguing over how the inauguration ceremony would be conducted!"smiled Mrs.P.

"OK, we will first travel back to April 30 1789, and Washington's inauguration ceremony. As the purple fog lifted, the students could witness George Washington who was wearing breeches, a dark coat and waistcoat. His shoes had plain silver buckles and he wore white silk stockings. He wasn't wearing a hat and unlike the custom of the day, he didn't wear a wig. Instead,his hair was pulled back in a ponytail, his hair powered. He stood outside the office on the balcony of Federal Hall. Sounds of people cheering and the roar of cannons filled the air.

With a Bible raised, the president kissed the book and said loudly,"I swear. So help me God". With that, the students could hear the speaker say, "It is done” and then,turned toward the cheering crowds and said loudly,"Long live George Washington, President of the United States!"

Mrs. P paused the adventure googles."Does anyone know anything about our first president George Washington?"

"I heard that he wasn't a very good speller", said Emily."Without computers and spell checker, I guess it wasn't always easy to spell correctly. My mom said that dictionaries weren"t common back then."

"Very good, Emily."smiled, Mrs. P., her purple dangling earring swaying like pendulums from side to side as she moved her head approvingly."Washington also liked to play billiards, go on fox hunts, fishing and read the newspapers at night to his wife. Standing, 6 ft. 2, only Thomas Jefferson , Lyndon B. Johnson and Abraham Lincoln were taller, with Lincoln, the tallest."

"And, he wore size 13 shoes,"smiled Dillard, who also wore size 13 shoes."My dad told me that fact so I wouldn't feel so self conscious about the banana boats I wear."

A girl in the back of the room waived her purple pen in the air which Mrs. P's purple radar quickly spotted. Her name was Hilda Rifferly. "My teacher, last President's Day, told us that Washington was the only founding father to free his 100 slaves in his will and he was the only president that didn't live in Washington, DC."

Willy Williamson called out,"Well, duh, Washington, DC,wasn't around when Washington was first president. The city WAS named for him, you know."

"Young man, we will always be respectful in my classroom towards your fellow students and, we don't call out of turn. Is that clear?"Mrs P said sternly having moved right in front of Willy's desk,her purple tinted contacts eyeballing him carefully. Willy nodded quickly that he understood. He also remembered this afternoon's little league game,in which he wanted to play.

Mrs. P asked, "Have you ever seen a mule? They are pretty common today but it was George Washington who is credited with introducing the mule to America,thinking they were better work animals than the horse. He bred them at his home at Mount Vernon estate."

Thaddeus Thumperton, who was a bit roly-poly and loved to eat, his favorite television show being the Food Network said,"I saw a food show last week that said Washington loved peanut soup and is said to have eaten it almost every day. He also liked green beans with mushrooms."

"Very good,Thaddeus", Mrs. P smiled and then asked the students,"Does anyone know his favorite dessert?"

Although Thaddeus knew this food answer, too, Mrs. P called on Vivianna Jalapeno who giggled,"I scream, you scream,we all scream for ice cream,including George Washington."

"Yes, and that was a very clever way to answer to question, Vivianna. Washington liked ice cream so much he had two-ice boxes placed in his home so he could always have ice cream."

The students saw that George Washington was petting his dog."Dogs often accompanied their master into battle as they helped in hunting,guarding the owner and offering companionship. As the students watched they noticed a another dog scamper over to Washington. Looking down at the tags, Washington saw that the dog belonged to his enemy in the battle,British General William Howe. Washington took the dog back to the camp where his soldiers said they should keep the dog as a war prize."No", said Washington."The Americans were people of honor,"he said and that the little dog was not their enemy". He announced that he would return the dog to its owner,the British General. A note was tucked into the dog's collar. White flags were waived, a symbol of a truce, and the dog was returned to its owner.

Mrs. P pushed the pause button and said,"General Howe was so impressed with the 'honorable act' of George Washington. Students, you never know how one act of kindness can have future effects. The British General was so touched to get his beloved dog back that when he was later ordered to be fight harder against the colonists...he resigned."

Mrs. P adjusted the dial on her purple remote and another period of time in the life of George Washington came into view. The students began to hear a dreadful sound. A "Number One Teacher" mug on Miss Fluffimeter's desk began to vibrate.It seems that George Washington was taking a snooze. And, as the history books say, he was really sawing logs. In other words, he was a very loud snorer! Marmalade Trumpetsonger made an awful frown and placed her hands to her hurting ears. Mrs. P. quickly turned the volume down on the remote control for the adventure glasses and mouthed the words,"Sorry, dears."On the bed stand, Washington's famous false teeth rested.

"Beep, Beep". Gertrude Maningfellow had pushed the button to ask a question."Is it true, Mrs. P.,that Washington wore wooden teeth That's what I heard."

"Well, this is just not the case. He wore dentures made of horse, cow,donkey and other animal teeth. Spring helped the false teeth open and bolts held them together. Some of his false teeth were possible human teeth, too.Interestingly, by the time of President Washington's inauguration, he only had one remaining original tooth. Historians think that one of the reasons his speech was only 183 words long,taking less than 90 seconds to read, was because his false teeth were too uncomfortable."

On further review of George Washington's bed chamber,a book could be seen resting on his night stand, his spectacles atop it.Mrs. P pointed out the book. "Students, have you ever returned a library book late?"she asked.

Gertrude raised her hand."Yeah,I owed $2.35 for a Harry Potter Book I forgot I had read and had kicked under my bed. My mother made me pay the fine with my allowance."

"Well, you're not alone, dear. Seems that our first president,George Washington failed to return two books to the New York Society Library on their due date of November 2,1789. In fact, the books, Law of Nations and Vol. 12 of the "Commons Debates"were never returned. See the title of the book on the table? It's Law of Nations. It is estimated that the current fine on both unreturned books has reached about $300,000!"

"Wow, that's a whole boatload of money,"said Richie Applewaters.

"Yes, it sure is,"responded Mrs. P. "Recently, the staff at Mt. Vernon returned a copy to the New York Society Library as the original is long gone. Fortunately, the library was so happy to get the book,they waived the fee!"

As the period ended, Mrs. P asked Gertrude and Richie to collect her adventure glasses, placing them in her purple backpack.

"That's got to be the coolest history class I've ever had,Mrs. P.Thanks for being our sub,today,"said Hilda. Others echoed the same as they began filing out of the classroom.

"Mrs. P, will your nephew's adventure goggles be available for purchase, soon?"asked Thaddeus,"I'd sure want to purchase one."

"He still has some bugs to work out of the system, but one of these days,..."smiled Portulaca.

Portulaca gathered her things and walked out of the classroom with Thaddeus. It had been another glorious day!