Kenny asked me why an apple is called an apple yesterday on our drive to the doctor's office.

I admitted that I am only vaguely familiar with the word's origin (I said "etymology" instead of "origin"; shame on me for showing off in front of my kids!) and that "apple" is an English word (I should have said "Anglo-Saxon" because "English" could mean "American" in his mind) and comes from the German word, Apfel, which I pronounced and spelled for him. Beyond that, I said that I didn't know what the word meant.

I should have reminded him of New York City's nickname, "The Big Apple," or some other fun trivia like that. But, honestly, all I could think of was Apple Records which would have been meaningless to him.

I find the word association involved in answering his questions entertaining and certainly makes driving the country roads around here enjoyable.