I once went into a classroom of fourth graders who were completing a silent reading of “The
Odyssey.” I tapped a child’s shoulder and asked her what she was reading.
She pointed to a picture next to the text. “The naked man,” she said.
Odysseus was indeed naked whilst fighting off a hoard of suitors. I looked away and asked what the naked man was doing.
She pointed to another picture. “Chopping off that naked man’s head.”
Indeed, he was holding up a beheaded corpse with wide, unseeing eyes. I asked what she thought of the story.
She looked me dead in the eyes and said, “The naked dude has no rizz.”
