Go, greased lightning and bravo, Mr. Crumm!
That is, until Week 5, when Miss Thing stood there in an evening dress, belting out the most exciting version of "I (Who Have Nothing)" we've heard since Shirley Bassey made it famous a hundred years ago.
After that, it became clear that this statuesque home-schooled songbird was our fave and she still is (in spite of that first single, "This Is My Now." Yikes!), even if we're not entirely convinced she's not actually a 34-year-old because, really, how can a Glendale teenager sing so beautifully and with this much style? One last question about our favorite songstress: Where's that debut album?!
We remember seeing Lowenthal a beloved and longtime ASU law professor (and all-suffering Sun Devils basketball fan) tooling around campus on his one-speed bicycle, hurrying back home from teaching a constitutional law class to play with his young daughter, Angela.
And we remember Cedar, a devoted teacher and counselor who ran the beloved Family School for years, leaving it in capable hands that will miss her sorely.
These two have spent their lives doing for others. Now, as they sidle into well-deserved retirements (well, not quite they already have more on their collective plates than most folks who haven't hit 40 yet), we applaud their new life, but just selfishly wish more than a little bit that they hadn't known the way to Santa Fe.