One day, President Bush visited an elementary school. All the kids
were so excited to get to meet the President. He began to talk to them
and asked them to define the word ''tragedy.''
"Well," one girl replied, "If my mommy ran over my dog, Rover, that
would be a tragedy!"
The President smiled at the little girl and said, "No, sweetie. That
would be an accident! Can anyone give it a try?"
A little boy sitting across the room raised his hand and said, "I
know! I know! If our bus driver ran off of a cliff and killed
everyone!"
The President shook his head and said, "No son. That would be a great
loss! Doesn't anyone know of a good example of a tragedy?"
A small girl raised her hand and said, "Well, Mr. President, if you
and Laura were in Air Force One and it was hit by a missile and blown
to smithereens, most people would think that that was a tragedy!"
"Very good," he said. "And what was your reason for that answer?"
"Well," she said, "It would not be an accident and it sure would not
be a great loss!"