death, the hamster, and mlk

isaac and i were driving to pick up a few things at Lowes today when we had a conversation about his school.  he was telling me about how things go there and the various chores for which the children are responsible.  after a brief pause (always brief when chatting with isaac) he told me of the death of their class hamster.  here's the funny dialogue that followed:

geoff - oh no, i'm sorry to hear about that.  how did he die?

isaac - he was just old.  when hamsters get old they die.

geoff - oh.

(pause)

isaac - he didn't die like martin luther king, no one shot him.  he just died of old age.  hamsters are like people...when they get too old they die.