Remember the good old days, when you were still in school and your parents sent a note when you were absent? Here are some actual notes recently submitted by parents:

• "Jerry was at his grandmother's yesterday, and she did not bring him to school because Jerry couldn't remember where the school was."

• "Ronnie would not finish his work last night. He said his brain was too tired of spelling."

• "Eric hurt his knee in a karate tournament over the weekend. He won his age group, but was in too much pain to do his math assignment."

• "Amy did not do her homework last night because we went out to a party and did not get home until late. If she is tired, please let her sleep during recess time."

• "Henry stayed home because he had a stomach ache from eating too much frosting."

• "It was my fault Mike did not do his math homework last night. His pencil broke and we do not have a pencil sharpener at home."

• "Scott didn't practice last night because he lost his tooth in the mouthpiece of his trumpet."

• "Diane was late on Wednesday. She fell asleep on the bus and was taken back to the bus yard."

• "Cody was absent yesterday because we were out bowling until 2 AM."

• "Tommy wasn't in school yesterday because he thought it was Saturday."