Is it just my crazy imagination actin' up again, or do the kids depicted on this sign for The West 83rd Street Pre-School of St. Matthew & St. Timothy (hello, Googlers!) appear rather combative and on the verge of murmuring, "Ready to rumble?" (because it's always polite to ask)? I suppose it's only fitting, given that this is, indeed, the West Side, where the kids are surly and spend most of their time lookin' for a fight while crouching and snapping their fingers in synch. (It's an inescapable fact of life here on the West Side, and, as I've told you before, I am particularly susceptible to its influence.)

Just look at the expression on these faces:

Caution: Churlish Children

Since this is a school, an element of education must be injected into the rumble experience. The newly renamed West 83rd Pre-School for Churlish Children has taken that into consideration, and with a delightful nod to nostalgia, has implemented one of the most beloved and effective Electric Company skits — The Soft Shoe — in the hopes of teaching its young charges how to deal with each other in a more civilized manner.

Look:

That's teamwork!

Happy BACK TO SCHOOL, everyone!