Background

It sounds bad, but the oddest thing about meeting all your students is that they are all people. High school students are not only people, but vulnerable, half-baked people. It kind of freaks me out. I always have the kids write me letters to introduce themselves, and as the years have gone on, I give […]

Fantasyland

I was taken to Disney World as a child, but I don’t remember it. I remember the book we got about Disney World. I pored over the photos, and remembered my dad explaining that there used to be nuclear submarines, and a Mission to the Moon, and that the Matterhorn was only in California. I […]

Hot

It’s as hot as Qatar, I was thinking as I crossed the street. Maybe. Kansas City in August can have heat as invasive and offensive as the Middle East. Not quite the dazzling temperatures, but the sticky air makes up the difference. I was remembering visiting my friend in Qatar– the first day I went […]

Deserved

This morning I read that Lindsey Graham was questioning the 14th amendment. Maybe being born here is not enough, he hinted. I don’t know what it means to be a citizen of this country. I just happened to be born here. It’s for convenience that we have this born-on-American-soil rule. For the convenience of the […]