I am a map and flag person. I admit it now. For the longest time, I was just using my "history teacher status" for an excuse. However, as I sit here trying to figure out where to hang the giant wall map of the United States, the map of Europe during WWI and WWII, the 50 state flags, the different flags from the stages of American history, I will confess. I am truly a "map and flag junkie," as my wife calls it. When I was a kid, I kept one of those push-pin maps in my room of all the places in the world I wanted to travel to, and the map's still around somewhere. I used to ask for history books for Christmas. There's something about history that's fun. It's about realizing that the future and present are tied together with events of the past. There are teachers who tire of the same routine in the curriculum. I am not one of those teachers. I look forward to repeating myself and the topics. When you love what you're doing, it's not work. My grandfather used to tell me that. It's true.