vermont 1:1
All of a sudden in New England, Jack
and Jill wore through their shoes, so we went into a shoe factory outlet, and tried on every pair in the store.
These were not my kids, but I had to buy them shoes.
My father told me once, I remembered, before buying
me new sneakers that schoolwork was how I earned my shoes. I was failing math. If you fail math, you'll
have to go barefoot, he said. I'll buy these, he said, but this would be your last pair. That scared me more than
any beating would have. He never spanked me, rarely even yelled, just shifted my privileges regarding the
material goods under his control, the car in particular, but also, when I was younger, shoes. I passed math.
But I couldn't add up the cost of these cheap irregulars that I had to buy for someone else's kids. I wanted to
tell them to behave, study hard, but it was summer. They weren't in school. What's three times two, I asked
Jack, holding back the shoes he wanted, thinking he'd know the factors of his own age. He thought for a
second and said, Thirty-two, which was my age.
move on...
other roads...
Back Up...
other roads:
