Kristen, my youngest stepdaughter, isn't into current events. What's news to her is school gossip or whatever shows up on her myspace page.

So my wife and I were quite startled last week when Kristen started quizzing us about President Bush's economic stimulus package.

Since discussing news with her is such a rare occurrence, I asked Kristen, "How did you know about that?"

She said the subject was brought up by the teacher in her Early American Cultures class. According to Kristen, her teacher told the kids how much their parents would be getting back -- including a $300 rebate for each child.

Which explains why Kristen was so interested in the stimulus package. She wanted to know what her "cut" of the $300 would be.

Thank you very much, Mr. Exeter teacher!!