Iced tea and rings of fire

There appears to be a shift in received opinion.  Chefs, diners and reviewers are remembering that food is closely connected to happiness, joy and humour.

It is heart-warming to see that this concept has reached the Arkansas school system.  It's disappointing that not everyone is so advanced in their culinary thinking as Mark "Cowboy" Turner.

The Smoking Gun goes into the whole sorry story:

A quartet of Arkansas high school students is facing criminal charges for allegedly placing a laxative in an iced tea dispenser in their school's faculty lounge. After purchasing the laxative at Wal-Mart, Mark "Cowboy" Turner, 18, snuck into the lounge at Lakeside High School and placed it into the dispenser, which was then shaken by another prankster, 18-year-old Harry Keck. A couple of teachers who drank the tea following the May 3 senior class prank later complained of cramps, according to Hot Springs police. Two other students, Bradley Parham, 18, and Jeffery Canterbury, 19, were also hit with a misdemeanor abuse of teacher rap. Investigators learned of the laxative assault after a Lakeside student found out about the spiking and told a school resource officer, said Corporal Chris Chapmond, a police spokesman. The four students are scheduled for a May 16 District Court hearing.