Welcome visitors

 

Not Rose, but close.

Sophie had a dinner guest tonight—and she was only medium graceful about it. Rosie, a yellow lab twice Sophie’s size and just her same age, was graceful and ladylike and not at all interested in Sophie’s food or her treats. I fed Soph early, in anticipation of the visit, but she hadn’t had her treat or eaten her second helping, which is kibble, when Rosie arrived. I put the kibble out of the way to avoid disagreements. The dogs got along but pretty soon Sophie began her demanding bark—I gave each of them a treat, but Rosie, unfamiliar with that treat, declined it. And Sophie barked until I gave Rosie’s treat to her.

Then she began to bark again, which made conversation difficult. I tried fresh water. I tried everything. Finally, Rosie’s person suggested it was the kibble. I gave Sophie that, she ate and settled down on the floor. At one point, she was lying so close to Rosie I thought they were cuddling.

Rosie’s human is Babette Hale, columnist, publisher, and short story writer. Her collection, A Wall of Bright Dead Feathers won the 2021 best short story award from the Texas Institute of Letters. Babette is also the widow of Leon Hale, longtime columnist for the Houston Post who died just over a year ago at the age of ninety-nine. Hale’s columns, musings on everyday life often down back roads, were legendary in Texas and his fans legion.

Babette and I have known each other a longtime but really bonded after we both sort of retired—and got new pups. I said tonight it was the dogs that brought us together, but she said it was also cooking and writing. And those were the topics tonight—the kind of intellectual discussion none of us get often. Shared interests, shared subjects—such fun. Babette lives in Winedale and was stopping in Fort Worth on her way to Santa Fe (yes, jealous—I wanted to sneak Soph and me into the back seat of her car!).

So what did I serve to someone who says we bonded over cooking? An appetizer of goat cheese with pesto; a crab salad—halfway through the meal I confessed it was Krab, faux crab, really whitefish—she said it tasted more like lobster than crab, and who’s to argue with that?). For dessert, chocolate bon bons from Trader Joe’s—small chocolate covered bites of ice cream and cookie. A good light meal.

As so many people do, Babette had trouble backing out of the driveway. I swear I had the dishes washed before she successfully hit the street. But what a lovely evening.

Otherwise, not a lovely day. Not a bad one, but not lovely. This morning it took me until almost eleven-thirty to read and respond to emails plus read the news of the day and do a quick check for messages on Facebook. I find the news of the Democrats increasing approval—both mid-term candidate and the president—an occasion for cautious encouragement, though I never want us to become over-confident too soon. But I am increasingly appalled at the arrogance and disregard for our country that trump showed in stealing security documents.

I suspect I’m preaching to the choir here, but I find the possibilities of what he may have already done with them, who he may have shared them with, increasingly frightening. It may be the one most blatant case of treason ever in our history, and I am anxious to have him punished to the full extent of the law. We cannot live in peace until that is done. At whatever cost. (If I weren’t a lady, there are several things I would say to Lindsey Graham.)

Locally I am perturbed by what I just found is a new Texas rule: schools must display a banner or whatever that says, “In God We Trust” and displays the American and Texas flags. I love the poster who suggested it be on a background of rainbow colors, since the background isn’t specified. Yay to the Carrollton/Southlake ISD which has rejected the signs (and I thought they were a leader in book banning—got to rethink that.) The power of the alt-right Christian movement scares me more than I can say, and this is just one little ripple.

It is in the seventies tonight, and my patio door is open. Poor Rosie couldn’t figure out how to go in and out of the flexible screen door, no matter how often we showed her. As Babette asked tonight, “Why is it so humid if we’re in the midst of a drought?” At any rate, I am enjoying the cooler temperatures, sorry that the rain has skirted all around us.

Time for all good dogs and the rest of us to be asleep. Sweet dreams. I bet Sophie is dreaming of food and treats.

Some thoughts about schools--and parents

 

When I was in eighth grade, I had a math teacher who for whatever reason did not like me. Admittedly, math has never been one of my best subjects, but I was not disruptive or a troublemaker. I talked to my mom, and she agreed that for some reason Miss Evans did not like me. I can still see her in my mind’s eye—an “ample,” older spinster lady with “styled” white hair and sensible black shoes that laced. My mom supported me, and my dad tried harder to help me with math, which was painful for both of us. What they did not do was rush up to the school and demand that Miss Evans be fired, or that I be assigned another math teacher—there wasn’t another one anyway. They taught me, instead, that life wasn’t always going to go my way, and I would survive.

I am really weary of a handful of today’s crop of parents, who think they can dictate school policy and curriculum. The furor in Carrollton/Southlake over teaching “alternative” theories of the Holocaust is but one example. That school district now has an open seat on its board and will have a non-partisan election—only it’s gotten quite partisan. When I hear a candidate say that we must protect children from radical ideas, my hackles go way up.

Parents have always been charged with protecting their children, but the nature of the perceived enemy has changed. Anything that makes children uncomfortable is now deemed unsuitable, so students are being taught a white-washed version of American history, from witch hunts to slavery to LGBTQ issues. The Critical Race Theory threat looms large and is purely a problem created by Republicans (thank you, Governor Abbott) to distract from their other problems. Those of us who pay attention know that CRT is a complicated discipline that is taught at the graduate level, primarily in law schools, and never in elementary or high schools. I have read articles about it, including some about the former Harvard faculty member generally credited with its origin, and frankly, it’s tough stuff. I can’t quite wrap my brain around it, and I am fairly well educated. I love the anonymous grade school teacher who said if she can teach her kids to read, write, and do elementary math, she’s happy. CRT is the farthest thing from her mind.

This attitude that parents can dictate to schools is not new when it comes to books, but it seems to have escalated—or maybe we have new issues. Race has always been contentious (banning To Kill a Mockingbird is insane), but I don’t remember LGBTQ issues being a topic when my kids were in school—today’s openness is a positive improvement, except for small-minded bigots. Unknowingly, these folks have given a great sales boost to Jerry Craft’s New Kid. It reminds me of the spurt in sales of Forget the Alamo! after Dan Patrick banned the book from the Bullock Museum. I read recently of a parent who objected to several books which were summarily removed from a teacher’s classroom, which led the teacher to complain that one woman had taken those books from all 142 of her students.

The mask controversy is the worst. In Fort Worth, four parents objected to masking and so far, their order carries the day. Masking is not mandated in Fort Worth schools. (Don’t pay attention to the governor’s anti-mandate mandate—more schools are ignoring it than complying and he can’t enforce it; in Florida DeSantis’ efforts at enforcement have simply weakened school programs by costing schools money). The worst about the anti-masking idiots, other than that they get their science from Facebook, is that they threaten violence. While most incidents have involved yelling, “We know where you live” and other threats, there have been a few violent outbursts.

At the risk of being accused of elitism I would suggest that these parents who fear so much for their children have one thing in common: a lack of education or intellectual curiosity (okay, make that two things). And now they are passing that on not only to their children but to all of ours because they are dictating policy and curriculum.

Think of it: one mother removes books from 142 children; four parents put an end to masking in an entire big-city school district; a governor says teach the Alamo but not the story of Greenwood, OK. It is similar to what’s happening in our county—the minority has grabbed the reins of power and are dictating, against the wishes of the general public.