I read with great interest and admiration L in the Southeast's excellent post about the use of offensive terms in Huck Finn. This got me to thinking. For some years I worked as a substitute teacher for a school district that was racially and ethnically mixed.

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    I didn't know what to do with my Liberal Arts degree with a major in English. It was a beautiful diploma, made from real parchment, but what was I supposed to do with it. I decided to back up my parchment with teaching credentials. While serving my stint as… Read full post »

    I awoke the other morning to an eastern sky tinted all rose and peach in hues that climbed from the horizon of Lake Michigan to halfway to its zenith. It was going to be a good day, and I was glad of heart. Such an auspicious beginning must surely… Read full post »

    My neighbor was one of those people who always seemed to be home with some sort of disability. His latest was a tear in his anus. I really didn't need to know that. His wife had a good job, and I often suspected that he just preferred staying home with… Read full post »

    The warmth of spring has brought the children of Cedar Grove out in force. I watch them flying by my place on bicycles and scooters. They are dressed in warm weather clothing. I listen to their laughter with a glad heart. The recent attacks on collective bargaini… Read full post »

    I never owned a camera. My father, on the hand, never went anywhere without three cameras hanging from straps in a row across his scrawny chest. I used to get irritated when we went on hikes and he had to stop every few steps to snap a wildflower, a spider… Read full post »

    I take great pride in the pacifist traditions of my home state of Pennsylvania. Founded by the Quakers, it is also home to other pacifist groups such as the Amish and Mennonites. I have always tried to hold to these values. There are times, though, when my Irish herit… Read full post »

    I have read with interest and a touch of wistfulness the stories many of you have posted about the accomplishments of your children. Some of you are looking forward to the graduation ceremonies you will soon be attending. I share your joy with a heavy heart.

 &nb… Read full post »

    He would walk into our college seminar room carrying large braille books which included the works we would discuss that day. We made room for his books at the end of the table and waited for him to settle in, find the page, and light his pipe. He was our pro… Read full post »

    I went out to the shed yesterday, but when I got there I couldn't remember why I had gone out to the shed. I thought maybe it had something to do with nutmeg. I was going to make soft sugar cookies, you see. But why would the nutmeg be in the… Read full post »

    It was the best summer job I ever had. I was manning the tasting bar at a local Lancaster Winery. The grapes were grown by the shores of Lake Erie, but the wine was sold where the tourists were. I had other duties as well--the cash register, stocking shelves, making… Read full post »

    How did it happen, I wondered, that my life had become so mundane. Surely I had been born to be an astronaut, a foreign correspondent sent to war zones, a secret agent with license to kill. Instead, I found myself married and living in the suburbs with three children.… Read full post »

    I always like to put out a cut glass candy dish filled with Dutch mints for Easter. The pastel colors of the mints are so springlike and a suitable candy for the Easter holiday. There is something about the scent and flavor of mint, though, that brings to me a… Read full post »

    It was a lemonade day. You know the kind. The heat and humidity are so intense that all you want to do is sit on the front porch sipping lemonade. It's the kind of day when your shirt sticks to your back. 

     Ma and cousin Lizzie decided to… Read full post »

    My pet rabbitt, Bun Bun, died that morning. I had caught him in a homemade trap in spring and raised him through the summer. But then it was fall and even the crickets had stopped singing. I forgot to take care of Bun Bun, and when I came home from school that… Read full post »

    I was shopping at Sendik's Market the other day and noticed that their bakery section was offering rhubarb pie. It seemed quite a coincidence. On my way to the market I was listening to NPR as is my custom when Prairie Home Companion came on the air. I hadn't been… Read full post »

    When I was young and tan, I strolled along the water's edge at the beach and knew that all heads turned as I passed. I strode with confidence and smiled at the guys as they greeted me. I was brimming with self assurance. I knew that my build was lithe… Read full post »

    I always had to be dragged to church, yes dragged, kicking and screaming. In retrospect, I think my very Catholic father must have wondered if I were possessed by Satan. 

    There were aspects of going to church which I enjoyed. The exotic sc… Read full post »

    When the sun warmed the earth and the day was fine, I used to ride my bike to my favorite destination. The covered bridge over the Conestoga Creek on Valley Road is a picture of charm. It looks like it belongs in a Currier and Ives print.

    As I… Read full post »

    For as long as I can remember, I was taught by my Irish father and his brothers to be proud of my royal Irish lineage. It seems that anyone bearing the surname of Cavanaugh, in any of its various spellings, is decended from the eldest son of the King… Read full post »

    I love water. Melville says it best through his character, Ishmael. If I should chance upon a stream while hiking in the wilderness, I too wish to follow its journey to where it is embraced by a river that finally widens into a sea.

    Water is my ench… Read full post »

    When I was young and idealistic, our English professor chose Thoreau's Walden for our next assigned reading. As someone who loves novels with their complexities of character and intricacies of plot, I was somewhat reluctant to delve into this nonfictional account of th… Read full post »

* I will buy a kite with a rainbow tail and take it to the beach where the snow has begun its slow but steady retreat from the advance of spring.

* I will look for things that are yellow. Perhaps I will buy potted daffodils to place on my… Read full post »

CASANDRA

    Her beauty was striking. You know the type, tall,curvaceous, black hair and eyes, ivory skin. She was a real head-turner and therein lay her problem. As sometimes happens, with great beauty comes great challenges.

    Cassandra was my co-worker at a mas… Read full post »

    This is the time of year when I feel the most longing for southeastern Pennsylvania. The snow is dirty. Icicles hang from the roof. My hands are chapped. My throat is raw. Winter is as hard as a clenched fist. While I was still living in Lancaster, I could escape… Read full post »