(re-run) My mom loves to watch the daytime talk show called Ellen. It’s usually fun and games, with hunky guys and Ellen playing tricks on her guests and staff. She rounds out the hour with lesbian jokes, a musical performance by some obscure band, and Ellen surprising some needy but giving person with $10,000 in… Continue reading The Day Grandma Got Woke
Category: racist
The Racist, the Ficus Tree, and my Garage Sale
(re-run) When I was six, the one black boy in my elementary school was my classmate. His name was Teddy. This was white-white-white Iowa in the 60’s. My first grade teacher, Mrs. Van Cura, got angry at the class one day for misbehaving and said, “Whoever doesn’t behave will have to play with Teddy at… Continue reading The Racist, the Ficus Tree, and my Garage Sale
Racism Embedded in our Language
(re-run) A few months ago, I was in Carmel visiting my favorite thrift stores. If you don’t like thrift stores, you haven’t been to the ones in Carmel! I got into a line to pay, and when it was my turn, and the woman had rung up my $89.00 worth of purchases, I whipped out… Continue reading Racism Embedded in our Language
The Day Grandma Got Woke
(re-run) My mom loves to watch Ellen. It’s usually fun and games, with hunky guys and Ellen playing tricks on her guests and staff. She rounds out the hour with lesbian jokes, a musical performance by some obscure band, and Ellen surprising some needy but giving person with $10,000 in cash. Then the death of… Continue reading The Day Grandma Got Woke
Worst Professor Ever
She taught the research class at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I needed the course to earn my master’s degree. It would be easy. I’d written dozens of research papers at Iowa State. She said we could choose any topic. All we had to do was take a position, defend it with an intro,… Continue reading Worst Professor Ever
Racism Embedded in our Language
(re-run) A few months ago, I was in Carmel visiting my favorite thrift stores. If you don’t like thrift stores, you haven’t been to the ones in Carmel! I got into a line to pay, and when it was my turn, and the woman had rung up my $89.00 worth of purchases, I whipped out… Continue reading Racism Embedded in our Language
Cancel Culture or Smart Companies?
Mattel started it off with their non-gender doll as an alternative to its Barbie doll. It’s because families were demanding it. Long gone are the days of girls dressed in pink playing with big-breasted Barbie dolls. Then Hasbro pulled the mister from Mr. Potato Head. Now it’s just called Potato Head with parts both feminine… Continue reading Cancel Culture or Smart Companies?
Antiracist (Racist?) Memory
I just picked up a book to read. It had a long preface, so I paged past it. Then there was a foreword, another preface, and then an introduction. Seriously? Chapter One didn’t start until page 25. I set that book down and picked up another one. The introduction ended on page 11, and the… Continue reading Antiracist (Racist?) Memory
Jack London — Was He a Racist?
Who doesn’t love the story The Call of the Wild? I used to teach it and also Jack London’s doomsday story called To Build a Fire when I taught 7th grade in Council Bluffs, Iowa. White Fang is another Jack London story that my 8th grade remedial boys liked to check out from my personal… Continue reading Jack London — Was He a Racist?
The Why of Tearing Down the Statues
I have half an hour before my Zoom exercise class begins. I was vacuuming when I came up with some thoughts to jot down before I lose them. On a 4th of July Zoom call the other day, the conversation turned to the protests in the streets and the tearing down of statues across the… Continue reading The Why of Tearing Down the Statues
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 