Messages on the train

I was riding the train when my pocket went off.

OK, the cellphone in my pocket beeped. I'd received a text message.

In my life, these are likely to come from only two people, Middle Son or Younger Daughter. I guessed it was Younger Daughter as I fumbled with the buttons. I guessed correctly.

You are riding the train with your favorite person ever!

I looked around. My wife had dropped me off at the train and continued on to school. And, no, I didn't see Geena Davis or Diane Lane or Halle Berry either. (Hey, my wife has often said she'd throw me over, at least temporarily, for Patrick Stewart or Sean Connery... so this is fair, isn't it?)

I texted back.

How do you know where I am? Where are you?

Yes, I spell out the words and use appropriate capitalization and punctuation. It takes me a long time... but I'm getting better at it.

Younger Daughter is not constrained by mere rules of spelling or grammar. So as soon as my phone was returned to my pocket it beeped again.

Bwahaha i know everything. Isn't that creepy?

Yes, it is, I thought. And I texted, too.

Yes it is. However, I'm too tired to get worked up about it now. Have a nice day.

Of course, Younger Daughter wouldn't drop it. From subsequent texts I learned that she was working at school (which, I'm sure, was the only reason why she was awake so early in the morning) and a high school friend of hers was apparently on my car. She apparently recognized me. This girl immediately texted Younger Daughter about it. (Presumably the text would have gone something like OMG! i am on the train with your dad lol. That's the level at which these texting conversations usually proceed.) This girl would be my 'favorite person ever' because I have often pointed out the strong correlation between Younger Daughter socializing with this girl and Younger Daughter getting into trouble. I never actually saw the girl on the train.

Anyway, all this gave me an idea. If I can figure out how to do it, I'm going to create and save a text message as a template that I can send to Younger Daughter whenever the spirit moves me:

I know you're up to no good! Behave yourself.

Maybe I can make her look over her shoulder sometime.