Seasick sea serpent

How common is it for a student to skip a grade? Does every school have a skipper, or are they extraordinary kids of legend? They're certainly less common than students who have to repeat a grade...I actually know someone who flunked kindergarten.

I remember this girl...Cecil was her name, pronounced like Sa-seal, not See-sal. She was with the same batch of school kids that came up with me at Hellyer Elementary in San Jose, but come 7th grade at Sylvandale Junior High, she leapfrogged into 8th grade. And that was that...8th graders universally don't hang out with 7th graders.

So Cecil pops in my head when I see the Hotel Cecil on Main Street in Downtown Los Angeles. Normally. But now the blade sign is stuck as "Ho Cecil," and Sylvandale Cecil was the last girl you would associate with "ho."

Hehehe...even funnier considering that last week the sign was illuminated as "Ho Cec." In other words, the property management took care of the burned out "il," but thought "Ho Cecil" was worth keeping.