A Problem with Vocabulary

Daniel got out of the Army too soon and left critical gaps in the girls' education. Case in point: Abigail was drawing a picture and wanted to know what a cannon looked like. I drew a picture for her. She looked at it, shook her head, and said, "No, no, a cannon like...a cannon on...a TRUCK CANNON!" The rest of us looked around at each other, I asked a few follow-on question, and then I ventured, "A tank?" "Yes, yes, a TANK! That's what I need!"

Jackson looked at me, flabbergasted and then disgusted. He walked away from the table, throwing up his hands and muttering, "A TRUCK CANNON?! A truck cannon? I thought maybe she was talking about a mortar!"

Girls.