tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81642203752008825252024-02-16T08:56:08.759-06:00Misstra Knowitall"He's a man, with a plan, got a counterfeit dollar in his hand..."Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.comBlogger223125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-60622022374714463292020-11-29T09:28:00.000-06:002020-11-29T09:28:13.426-06:00Black Teacher Matters Podcast<p><span style="background-color: white;">Have you been lucky enough to have a Black teacher be a part of your education? Looking back on my schooling, I was struck by how many brilliant Black folks took their time to teach me something, inside and outside of the classroom. They are the reason why I'm still in the teaching game all these years later. In this era when the number of Black classroom teachers are in decline, it's even more important to tell our stories. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;">Black Teacher Matters is a podcast where I tell my own story as a teacher and talk to the Black teachers who helped form me in some ways. You can give it a listen here:</span></p><p>https://anchor.fm/abdel-shakur6</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-ruTd6NMjccYwjR5B8S2KmMJEkD6i58rak_p92kawhF5p_ioc1SHcZ055ZAhlrXQEZnrfy5eDfjmchEBUbuu5tkkMA5ZC_snlACaxhB5eIq1G4P8pSHCwwULJ-sZHG4KVj_FmnisTsq2/s2048/BLACk+TEACHER+MATTERS.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-ruTd6NMjccYwjR5B8S2KmMJEkD6i58rak_p92kawhF5p_ioc1SHcZ055ZAhlrXQEZnrfy5eDfjmchEBUbuu5tkkMA5ZC_snlACaxhB5eIq1G4P8pSHCwwULJ-sZHG4KVj_FmnisTsq2/w688-h387/BLACk+TEACHER+MATTERS.png" width="688" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-78587687331491425952017-09-21T06:00:00.000-05:002017-09-21T10:53:58.077-05:00Misstra Knowitall's Greatest Educational Hits<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I love to teach. H</span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">ere's a few thoughts on the subject.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7tO6Q5yilYFU1xSpzthMvc1pV6lHdT09H1tdLFcKnomi68mb82BHgn-_BHXvNX_Zwh53WKhYJb9GO3kRat8EDkDZrPjll0FkrWSBEUrAASgX68ju2TdnvKCHopBCvhACNILV1WposH9K7/s1600/aaron+rushing.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="636" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7tO6Q5yilYFU1xSpzthMvc1pV6lHdT09H1tdLFcKnomi68mb82BHgn-_BHXvNX_Zwh53WKhYJb9GO3kRat8EDkDZrPjll0FkrWSBEUrAASgX68ju2TdnvKCHopBCvhACNILV1WposH9K7/s200/aaron+rushing.png" width="200" /></a><a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2015/06/ive-been-thinking-lot-lately-about.html" target="_blank">Revision and Innocence: The Life of Aaron Rushing</a><br />
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I wrote a piece for Gawker about a brilliant student I lost too soon. He inspires me every day to think about innocence and joy in my class.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfa24cwteFdU6EkNr-zIrj0Bdwn3pNTpcKmsgxX3tSxSMyXI5n_LFbVb4mNYGKFUree00Jirxpk5XjM-l4zWyDFMkmtsOS-daTXTJOiKt-tL9eaLOAQkmS0OFlgp-lR0k_7DpdEQpMml1y/s1600/Sunflower-reorientation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="900" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfa24cwteFdU6EkNr-zIrj0Bdwn3pNTpcKmsgxX3tSxSMyXI5n_LFbVb4mNYGKFUree00Jirxpk5XjM-l4zWyDFMkmtsOS-daTXTJOiKt-tL9eaLOAQkmS0OFlgp-lR0k_7DpdEQpMml1y/s200/Sunflower-reorientation.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2014/01/teaching-while-awed.html" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: medium;" target="_blank">Teaching While Awed</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfa24cwteFdU6EkNr-zIrj0Bdwn3pNTpcKmsgxX3tSxSMyXI5n_LFbVb4mNYGKFUree00Jirxpk5XjM-l4zWyDFMkmtsOS-daTXTJOiKt-tL9eaLOAQkmS0OFlgp-lR0k_7DpdEQpMml1y/s1600/Sunflower-reorientation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Awe is about witnessing, not dissecting. Awe is not about grading, but appreciating. Awe is essential to good teaching<span style="font-size: 13px;">.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyRN72_iFo8uIIXDQB2IpvOE0QhQDD4b3XhOoF6mhJ7HaFO8y4I0jL7ENfO5yOp6ttaU541EZW4XDCicAIyOS0ZbKk7IdzZeqzCit39ltA8VnIOK6JLTmGgvWkAo9UXaPkRlphoON7G034/s1600/akeem-feature-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="640" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyRN72_iFo8uIIXDQB2IpvOE0QhQDD4b3XhOoF6mhJ7HaFO8y4I0jL7ENfO5yOp6ttaU541EZW4XDCicAIyOS0ZbKk7IdzZeqzCit39ltA8VnIOK6JLTmGgvWkAo9UXaPkRlphoON7G034/s200/akeem-feature-image.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-5-stages-of-grading.html" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank">The Five Stages of Grading</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. Welcome to my winter break with a stack of essays. </span></div>
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<a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2009/01/we-built-it-now-we-live-in-it.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLCKvSjO1Aj5fxUJxtONB2nz-8haRTByTqABeehEzvEGCXZcarZmXvPaxacFVvsK8rGSnpjBwVsWLcLPNz_KfmorlBD_uMCIVBBxI8EFZPWsskM9Qb2xc4jcqmBdAvU9pvk0AWh_nv6b5n/s1600/ed8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLCKvSjO1Aj5fxUJxtONB2nz-8haRTByTqABeehEzvEGCXZcarZmXvPaxacFVvsK8rGSnpjBwVsWLcLPNz_KfmorlBD_uMCIVBBxI8EFZPWsskM9Qb2xc4jcqmBdAvU9pvk0AWh_nv6b5n/s200/ed8.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2009/01/we-built-it-now-we-live-in-it.html">We Built It, Now We Live In It</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2008 was my first year of high school teaching and my first year of having a Black President. <b>Listening to my students helped me understand the significance of both. </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTj04LdoWm2JdjC2XUZ916LvVlNv0drBBeQWgVg7hNXJiierrtFu-zq4UrMRBu1mLCAmPHNqZMWstwD1tk9G2lJS6VENX84B2O8l7xUAPYheF7T4ADo4TQX1UiNQrOeCSfnsQ0Z_wXzH2p/s1600/ed1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTj04LdoWm2JdjC2XUZ916LvVlNv0drBBeQWgVg7hNXJiierrtFu-zq4UrMRBu1mLCAmPHNqZMWstwD1tk9G2lJS6VENX84B2O8l7xUAPYheF7T4ADo4TQX1UiNQrOeCSfnsQ0Z_wXzH2p/s200/ed1.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/01/beloved-community.html" target="_blank">Beloved Community</a>:<b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">King's dream was beloved community. That's the dream I have for my own classroom. </span><br />
<a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/11/elbows-meditation.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJGp9cFFAqQLXhlt3t1mhb-LygL0bTjhgsNqBhjha7iwEdXuxBvkEvp2VKXZ-Kyz9Dn4bRUAiu7Zii6HY7emtU_CIPmNsuH5cJ5gXEKEuNXG9fF8hIzZpucPcXIfXROU4eO1aw7FyxgC6/s200/ed2.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/11/elbows-meditation.html" target="_blank">Elbows: A Meditation</a> :</span><br />
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<a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/05/standardized-teaching.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEdQvtRqTkH5X8WjAKCUps85TmAkbSJ9TNeFiu1YYthW50wk8gUJrELDmwM_y1B9DGdr-UJ_opbqrCVpzx2fqGXm-568CMgNWtDRCWM05Yvd5xmEGbAZ0VlL5NK3OmJhsxiyOINwwjFK6/s200/ed3.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
<a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/05/standardized-teaching.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Standardized Teaching: </span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Can we use data to inform, rather than enslave? </span><br />
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<a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/03/blowing-whistle.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzneBEmdgm0kxQdFETt_UlXTcsVIC8WcK_zVd6yacaoCpNaTTTRKUVI-Gp2vaiCP9ECUf49WOYkkluekeGOAPw-XM0OkiiB-vAmZbpsgb9PoyWItJtXNVQ9KgcIdR0rKdIioANASQZpqD/s200/ed4.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><br />
<a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/03/blowing-whistle.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Teaching Writing and Blowing the Whistle: </span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 20.7969px;">In a test-heavy environment, sometimes the learning that can be easily assessed is the learning that gets emphasized the most. <b>Writing should promote deeper thinking. If it's not, it should be rethought. </b></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/03/misstra-knowitalls-philosophy-of.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXe-Pu9GhaXnN0yNRraqjTJMS3FJY6aTXfNE6xL104iVAyREpMm2pap2QRnboLzs9UKhk9vhlkl5I5S9LQ1QwndBjqfbOm8IhdWxbKuS3PLtJulpDLsOiWlp1B712xLWn2PfhjJEGtURbs/s200/ed5.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/03/misstra-knowitalls-philosophy-of.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Misstra Knowitall's Philosophy of Technology Education:</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">How do we teach our kids to use tech without it using them? </span><br />
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<a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/04/real-talk.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0clyX4zg8QTsj7xpmiEHz7eys0z-_T-Q7Y7JfgX_GhhU6l0c4KV979lZGclS4v4Zxdf7D2IFtjdKjj5OEh3k3O8pRW98xx5h0wsVXy0hyphenhyphen-iJrXD-GaPpc9bh_IrlgvsEnvhhicZrFlGZ/s200/ed6.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2010/04/real-talk.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Real Talk:</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A student at my school is killed. I had to skim this one, but you might want to read it. <b>Still hard to think about.</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/12/life-after-death-at-act-charter-school.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS1hRjW0jytsBcluJJhK5ujL1bglWJxtMBc1WUIXpGYcQKDLBZeIeClhwvAcbSbyVubvIIJfHfT_yf2eJGe9h9d6Ri44rDsP9C9lEHpo5NPeFf1LjZ24FwXCBtq-wty85hVKNIEVKlSIUK/s200/ed7.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2011/12/life-after-death-at-act-charter-school.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Life After Death at ACT Charter school: </span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What is it like to live through the slow death of a school? Terrible. What is it like when said school is resurrected? <b>Terribly bizarre.</b></span><br />
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-7934630599684353912016-08-11T13:01:00.003-05:002017-09-21T10:55:37.473-05:00Marching for Justice With #BLMCHIYOUTH<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mNNrU55_vnXTuoFipC37Z7W1Tg_BMxXXnpXPIcZzfRFb5vwroxJgQIBSFj2nHufIGjCw52trnQLwohXXbiBSenBDaMS-wNF4_Z8f07i4iddGFqlLNwSmguUD_awvan-klT_gCkZ74x6D/s1600/paul+o%2527neal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mNNrU55_vnXTuoFipC37Z7W1Tg_BMxXXnpXPIcZzfRFb5vwroxJgQIBSFj2nHufIGjCw52trnQLwohXXbiBSenBDaMS-wNF4_Z8f07i4iddGFqlLNwSmguUD_awvan-klT_gCkZ74x6D/s640/paul+o%2527neal.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>Leaving the house sometimes, I imagine what it would be like if I never came back.</b> What if the run of good luck that has kept me from the fate of so many Black men and women who meet guns or bullets or chokeholds or night sticks runs out? All of those awful possibilities came rushing back to me last Sunday as I got ready to go to the <a href="https://twitter.com/BLMChiYouth" style="font-weight: 400;" target="_blank">#BLMChiYouth</a> protest against the police shooting of <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-police-shooting-paul-oneal-cop-names-met-20160809-story.html" style="font-weight: 400;" target="_blank">Paul O’Neal</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I said goodbye to my five year-old daughter, Lucy. She was cross-legged on her bed looking at a book. I gave her a hug. She asked me where I was going. I told her about the Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Chicago. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">“Are there going to be police there?” she said. She brushed a strand long brown hair away from her forehead. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">“I guess so,” I said.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">“You’re not going to get arrested, are you?” she said. I still couldn’t get the image of all those police officers standing around, slapping fives, checking themselves for injuries, while the life ebbed out of the young man at their feet, his hands shackled behind him. <b>What a terrible way to die. </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">“No, baby,” I said. I gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I’m not planning on getting arrested.”</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYgp_FIgLfpdH9uMc5KHzmamvuhBAI9E5do3UUbtk6rdn2piei2ulcIg7bnVxNkM6z8kp1Hs7yOgFSOy4OVpg9yoXbKWnYsOi0S333q2KrBbN0fZ4Og5VQYYavekblfBBrgITYvKxihzx/s1600/Hundreds_march_for_police_accountability_2_1814665_ver1.0_640_360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYgp_FIgLfpdH9uMc5KHzmamvuhBAI9E5do3UUbtk6rdn2piei2ulcIg7bnVxNkM6z8kp1Hs7yOgFSOy4OVpg9yoXbKWnYsOi0S333q2KrBbN0fZ4Og5VQYYavekblfBBrgITYvKxihzx/s400/Hundreds_march_for_police_accountability_2_1814665_ver1.0_640_360.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">After navigating traffic and finding a parking spot, I got to Wrigley Square about thirty minutes late for the protest. <b>The sun was still high in the sky, and people were crowding the sidewalks, enjoying the last moments of the weekend.</b> On the square there were about 200 or so people sitting on two sides of a grassy field. The crowd skewed younger and whiter, but there was a good presence of black and brown faces as well. Across the street, lines of police were arrayed along Michigan avenue.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The <a href="http://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/July-2016/Black-Lives-Matter-Chi-Youth-Sit-In-Rally/" target="_blank">protest organizers</a> stood in a circle at the fountain nearby. <a href="http://www.teenvogue.com/story/teen-activists-shut-down-chicago-streets-peaceful-blm-protest" target="_blank">Eva Lewis</a>, a young black woman with long black and purple braids, thick glasses, and yellow ankh earrings was earnestly reading a long list of names over a bullhorn. The names were all people who had been killed by police. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I walked around the perimeter of the square so I could get a lay of the land and get a sense of the group’s vibe. Despite the fact that I grew up in Berkeley, California, where demonstrations are an unofficial part of the curriculum, large gatherings always make me nervous, especially when they involve interactions with police. <b>The Dallas shootings at a BLM rally last month added yet another layer of gruesome possibility.</b> But despite my discomfort, there is something deeply satisfying about getting with a bunch of like-minded people to draw attention to an injustice that should not be ignored. Exercising the right to free public assembly and speech makes me feel most American, I suppose. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I immediately noticed the white guy with dirty blonde hair and a large green backpack walking near the crowd’s edge, muttering about something Eva had said. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">“Did she just say that America was created to protect white men?” he said. He repeated the question over and over, shaking his head and laughing. I moved away so I could keep an eye on him and the nearest exit. From the way some of the black people in the crowd were stealing glances at him, I wasn’t the only one wary of his disbelief.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">On the other side, I noticed a light-skinned brother taking deep draws on a cigarette, also muttering about the proceedings. He had a blue baseball cap tipped forward at a jaunty angle. He was skinny, but tall and tense. He surveyed the crowd with disgust, his eyes light green and googly. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>“This shit weak,” he hissed and shook his head. “This shit lame.”</b> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">He didn’t appear to be talking to anyone in particular, but a woman with a notepad sidled up to him and identified herself as a reporter. His face brightened a little as he talked and she scribbled. </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Honestly, I had some concerns, too. Having white allies is important to any stand against white supremacy, but I can’t help but have Malcolm X’s Message to the Grassroots speech in my head, where he complains about white influence making the March on Washington whiter and more palatable. Like cold cream in hot black coffee was the analogy he used. Being black often means occupying spaces designed with the comfort of white people in mind. <b>I didn’t want to protest with knuckleheads, but I also didn’t want this to be about making white people feel comfy.</b> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After a moment or two, Eva came back out and made a shocking statement about what we were going to do: the goal of the march was to shut the streets down, but </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> get arrested. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve been to a lot of protests and before an event gets started, usually you’ll get advice about what to do if you got arrested, but can’t recall anyone ever saying the goal was to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">avoid</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> arrest. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Protester street cred is supposed to come from getting locked up.</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Throwing your body against the gears of the machine, and all that. But this new approach felt oddly subversive. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">“If you a CPS student, I know you not trying to get arrested,” she said. “Because I know I ain’t.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">It was startling to hear a young activist pragmatically consider what a clash with the police might mean for her and all the people gathered together. There are times when an effective protest may require people sacrificing their freedom, but she was letting us know that this wasn’t that kind of party. (Besides, there's ample <a href="http://www.colorlines.com/articles/arresting-development" style="font-weight: 400;" target="_blank">evidence</a> that mass arrests are a tactic being used to dismantle BLM movements around the country) <b>I had already promised Lucy I was going to be coming home that night, but hearing Eva say this made me not feel like I had to carry the promise like a secret.</b> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">As a teacher, I admired her classroom management acumen as she made everyone repeat several times that no one was going to get arrested. She also said that we needed to stick together. If we were by ourselves, we should find a “protest buddy” who could look out for us. We shouldn’t put our hands on anyone. We shouldn’t cuss at police. We should not do things that would get us arrested. We should listen to instructions from the organizers. Racism, sexism, classism, ableism, homophobia, and transphobia were all unacceptable. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Everyone was smiling and looking ready to go. The gaggle of young women and men who were organizing the event were holding a powwow on the side to go over the final details, and Green Eyes came over. He moved his hands wildly, but seemed mostly calm as he mansplained how “weak” and “lame” the nascent protest was and detailed his idea for making it less so. They tried to placate him by listening, but he stomped away when he didn’t get the reception he wanted. He walked to the center of the still-seated crowd. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">“You see those motherfuckers over there?” he said, pointing to the police lining the sidewalk on the other side of Michigan Avenue. “They taking this shit for a joke. I’m tired of this bullshit”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Eva grabbed a bullhorn and yelled back. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>“If you have any respect for the black girls who are putting this together, you will stop.” </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">But Green Eyes was in his own world, at the center of everyone’s attention. He was a model of righteous black fury. Cursing and jabbing at the air. The crowd fidgeted and news cameras were hoisted on shoulders. I felt the impulse to pull away from the spectacle, but an older brother with a black beret and a large black liberation flag stepped in front of the young brother. And then another one of the young poets, and another, and another. Nobody was being overly aggressive, just letting him know what he’s doing is not acceptable. <b>They surrounded him like bullshit antibodies. </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">It was tense for a moment as he yelped, “Get your goddamn hands off me,” but then the organizers told everyone to stand up and we were on our way. Crisis averted. As we marched down Michigan, a chant starts, “No justice, no peace, no racist police.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Green Eyes approved. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">“See, that’s what the fuck I was talking about,” he beamed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Walking down State, the organizers tell everyone to link arms and come in tight. I’m hesitant because I don’t know anyone, but I guess that’s the point. They encourage us to share names with one another (Two college-aged white kids, Elaine and Kareem, are on either side of me) just in case anything happens. As we’re marching and yelling, I’m a little surprised at how connected and strong I feel amidst the tall buildings and roaring traffic. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi23xECCXp6ExEiY2Bgcw2QtCmudpRfG48caYmL4PXnEGvQiT4N7R38I58Atb1HdCL_3icW7VH-t9kCwM8qrWWV6Uokod2nQQdiM8Eqo8mhRp9JeoJTfnmY7PM71NPHOq1rWygo38kq7NTq/s1600/CpS6t8RVIAA-CGr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi23xECCXp6ExEiY2Bgcw2QtCmudpRfG48caYmL4PXnEGvQiT4N7R38I58Atb1HdCL_3icW7VH-t9kCwM8qrWWV6Uokod2nQQdiM8Eqo8mhRp9JeoJTfnmY7PM71NPHOq1rWygo38kq7NTq/s400/CpS6t8RVIAA-CGr.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Side note: Participating in public protest nowadays means being ready to not only confront the stares of bystanders, but also their cameras. A protest should disrupt the normal flow of people and capital so the public is forced to consider the injustice. Disagree with the cause or not, people are forced to think about what they think, even if what they “think” is just a product of brainwashed thinking. <b>The thing that’s complicated now is that people insulate themselves from thinking by holding their phones up. </b>When thought and emotion get too intense, people feel the impulse to point their cameras at it. I notice the wry smiles on people’s lips as they stare at their screens as we pass. I wonder are they thinking about police brutality or how many likes their footage will earn them. Hashtags in their eyes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">As someone participating in protest, this raises the stakes because at any moment, anything could happen that could be beamed to screens all over the world. Don’t trip over your shoe. Don’t throw a rock. Don’t say the wrong thing. Really, the police don’t need to patrol a crowd that’s being recorded, and recording itself. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">But I also get it. The young ladies who organized the protest had put the whole thing together online and were very aware of how to use it to their benefit. They encouraged people to take out phones and take pictures of them and tweet about the event. After all, that’s how I heard about the event. So it can be an important tool, but you wonder when the effort to encourage awareness mutates into a performance of “wokeness”.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKLEwdK5F-QL2zEhKRX1Zw_YdOYVZS0VfnGkayIRoT7zAs4gZ1Ue77VhvfuDIPG4EWF1hnPsRZr1LZebItHoUlUtDn9rsXEV0VpCyGSWTTfN20mRKlleSEFgYZTo56JCbkJWz349RnZne/s1600/%2540chicagotribune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKLEwdK5F-QL2zEhKRX1Zw_YdOYVZS0VfnGkayIRoT7zAs4gZ1Ue77VhvfuDIPG4EWF1hnPsRZr1LZebItHoUlUtDn9rsXEV0VpCyGSWTTfN20mRKlleSEFgYZTo56JCbkJWz349RnZne/s320/%2540chicagotribune.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I saw the scruffy white guy from earlier as we walked up State. He had a friend with him and they were both sipping cans of Milwaukee’s Best. The crowd was chanting “Black lives, what? Black Lives Matter!” and these guys are chanting “All lives matter!” Some people around me hear it and yell at them, but they just flash silly grins and keep chanting. I leaned over to one of the guys.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">“Why are you doing that?” I said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">“Well, because they do matter,” he said, matter-of-factly. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I agreed that all human life is significant, but that wasn’t the question that Black people have had to answer in this country. The question of valuing the lives of Black people is the question that Paul O’Neal faced as he scrambled over that backyard gate, heavy with breath, school backpack jangling with nothing but a screwdriver inside. <b>(By the way, why was he so committed to that little backpack? He was either driving around in a brand-new stolen Jaguar with the backpack pressed uncomfortably against his seat or he grabbed it in and put it on after he crashed his car and fled the police gunfire. Something about it was important to him. He’ll never be able to tell us why.</b>) Black Lives Matter is necessary because it’s an answer to a question that this country has not yet set itself to come to terms with. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I didn’t say all that too him, but basically<b> I fussed at him like I would fuss at a student who was being disruptive during class presentations</b>. He got the point and apologized. I told him I was glad he was there and how important it was for guys like him to represent, but I restrained the impulse to share my name with him and I walked away. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6rBLa0_XtZUwmWMnsFoa_JwMnj8pCibp4SAhuxg-KB7sZ7ywT7at8dYGv2TglhUep4VuUOph4lbwZYbYfLEttVObWL4E5ZV9ancNDzSC2S-RPTBMW4SM4gwoHsmpZtGADPUE6i8kNgw5E/s1600/%2540thecrisismag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6rBLa0_XtZUwmWMnsFoa_JwMnj8pCibp4SAhuxg-KB7sZ7ywT7at8dYGv2TglhUep4VuUOph4lbwZYbYfLEttVObWL4E5ZV9ancNDzSC2S-RPTBMW4SM4gwoHsmpZtGADPUE6i8kNgw5E/s320/%2540thecrisismag.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My adrenaline had gotten going talking to Milwaukee's Best and within a few steps I felt like I had been running wind sprints. The sadness came all of a sudden and the weight of why we were marching put lead in my feet. I stopped chanting and just concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, just being a part of the crowd. Just being a vessel </span><span style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">for someone to use for good purpose. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I credit the organizers for that moment. Not only did those young ladies take ownership of the event, providing a very clear vision of what they wanted to happen, they also did little things that made me feel cared for, like encouraging those who had come on their own to link up, like pausing the march to have people share hugs with people they didn't know, to adopting chants the crowd contributed. All stuff that made me feel cared for. Stuff that made it easier to just breathe and be present. </span></span></div>
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<div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">And maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. <b>Black women have always done this kind of organizing, it’s just patriarchal nonsense that has kept some of our best and brightest leaders on the sideline.</b> I noted the young brothers who formed a line of security and consulted often with the main organizers. The love and respect that they showed was a model for everyone there. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had to leave the march early to keep my bedtime appointment with my two year-old, but I felt a bit of catharsis as I drove home. I didn’t leave the rally feeling like I had ended police brutality or the state-sanctioned murder of black people in America, but it certainly left me with a vision of the type of leadership that will move us there. That will move my children there. Thank God for that. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggCy026vEdXeg2fg-UhIQv3B4sgx4Gp3MS-8nXltZcfC_AzbJIB5GiHhFeqSsSLR7fv-utEpkyCZKk0wokGTvgFjzXxF54sZanHp-7cWalZNMmyIvuuWcURoIPgzOJBObdRn4xjiR-yPQh/s1600/%2540colinbphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggCy026vEdXeg2fg-UhIQv3B4sgx4Gp3MS-8nXltZcfC_AzbJIB5GiHhFeqSsSLR7fv-utEpkyCZKk0wokGTvgFjzXxF54sZanHp-7cWalZNMmyIvuuWcURoIPgzOJBObdRn4xjiR-yPQh/s400/%2540colinbphoto.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-77294699364151395422016-06-14T23:43:00.000-05:002016-06-14T23:59:03.679-05:00Misstraknowitall Presidential Debate Strategy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiVq7pXiqV0dUSV4EPZ_X2Y0k_HZk64Mhi2zDydLcy7fvBUF6Ezat3w2qAjRJ2f375XNpR2TWRqd_AEhlH3HA7MlVRNENry5Y0xwcVmrzuuuRmovg2ENKoy2r_MPll4RVdVEUmFyhPFJa/s1600/elaine.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiVq7pXiqV0dUSV4EPZ_X2Y0k_HZk64Mhi2zDydLcy7fvBUF6Ezat3w2qAjRJ2f375XNpR2TWRqd_AEhlH3HA7MlVRNENry5Y0xwcVmrzuuuRmovg2ENKoy2r_MPll4RVdVEUmFyhPFJa/s320/elaine.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hillary's opening statement</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hillary during the rebuttal period</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hillary's Closing Remarks</span></td></tr>
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-1864955984924815032016-05-20T16:11:00.001-05:002016-05-20T16:11:06.891-05:00Can you get to this?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Me on a Friday.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPH7vMtq9fv48AW8xc7lxc45u9GphkSqq7vnvkzH6Rbya2kCrxMrz7W98PaBXojwTLJ27kIzV5qycdzC-6w6PqpPxbaIS4jguOiCIs7abml4lrI5c3u682ixAid6UF-RlmUJPmUqyo351Y/s1600/school+bell.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPH7vMtq9fv48AW8xc7lxc45u9GphkSqq7vnvkzH6Rbya2kCrxMrz7W98PaBXojwTLJ27kIzV5qycdzC-6w6PqpPxbaIS4jguOiCIs7abml4lrI5c3u682ixAid6UF-RlmUJPmUqyo351Y/s320/school+bell.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is actually from the promo video for Funkadelic's Cosmic Slop. Peep.<br />
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-78392859401344501652016-05-01T15:18:00.000-05:002016-05-01T15:18:10.311-05:00Teardrops<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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What would happen if the daughter of Sam Cooke and the brother of Bobby Womack made a song together? This. Actually, <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/artist/womack-womack-mn0000680374" target="_blank">Womack and Womack</a> had a bunch of successful cuts. Just ignore me if you already knew all that, but do yourself a favor and put this song in your day. </div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/R8AOAap6_k4/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R8AOAap6_k4?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-10121075052370791642015-11-25T23:10:00.000-06:002015-11-26T07:28:29.677-06:00The Healing Power of Gratitude<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQBBT2T9aS3gYb4Nw8gNSWQgAMFsblYDKZ-8mFHBnbZJe0_RhRrHFmZyS-OxR7iwNgh93C_xp9LgGHmwcpbY_jmzZ7dU402vr6UpwqnvQSKrpseiLZ9P7C5uPkhgeZKp6cRae8crarIkT/s1600/Iridescence-Soap-Bubble-1024x1024-walltopia.net.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQBBT2T9aS3gYb4Nw8gNSWQgAMFsblYDKZ-8mFHBnbZJe0_RhRrHFmZyS-OxR7iwNgh93C_xp9LgGHmwcpbY_jmzZ7dU402vr6UpwqnvQSKrpseiLZ9P7C5uPkhgeZKp6cRae8crarIkT/s200/Iridescence-Soap-Bubble-1024x1024-walltopia.net.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To a three-year-old, there is nothing better than bubbles in the park. My daughter, Lucy, and I were at the playground last Spring, when our friend Jenn and her son, Jackson, came through with the ultimate party-starter: a bubble wand. Jenn waved the wand and filled the air with shiny, watery globes that wobbled along in the warm breeze. Even though Lucy’s a big girl who can swim and play piano and write her numbers, seeing her shrieking and giggling and running after bubbles was a good reminder that she’s still my baby.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But then disaster struck: Jenn’s wand ran dry. As the last bubble popped, Lucy’s smile faded and her shoulders hunched. She stomped over to me and looked like she was going to cry. I asked was she okay and she somberly reported that the bubbles were gone. I gave her a consoling pat on the shoulder, but asked if she’d thanked Jenn for bringing bubbles in the first place. My daughter looked at me like I was insane and her frown deepened. I told Lucy to go thank Jenn. She moped, but walked over and said thank you.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’re welcome,” Jenn said, with a smile. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lucy’s face brightened. A bit later she was running around with Jackson, giggling like the bubbles never left.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That moment taught me the healing power of gratitude. Being grateful is not about having good manners or just being nice, it’s about making yourself whole. My daughter’s sadness wasn’t simply about bubbles. The pain of her need had lead her to feel anger and alienation toward someone who had shown her kindness. Not only had she lost the bubbles, she had lost the connection. The pain wasn’t released until she recognized the kindness, which strengthened her connection and helped her release her need. After she gave thanks, she could feel close, feel loved again. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A child without gratitude is a child in torment. Always wanting, never being able to appreciate the gift of the present moment. In the same way, joy is only possible when we show gratitude to those that help us, even in small ways. Bombarded in our daily lives by guilt, shame, and fear, witnessing and testifying about the kindness and blessings we receive takes hard, heart work. But our connection to other people, to ourselves, and even to God, depends on our ability to give thanks. All of us deserve to realize how much we should be thankful for. All of us.</span></div>
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-83114998956107812772015-09-04T22:18:00.002-05:002015-09-05T16:25:07.163-05:00What we talk about when we talk about Yo White Daddy...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>Yo Daddy is so White, that all his slave ships were zero emission.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX4zcIxzgdIhyphenhyphenqtHJPDLIBV4UsBNfTl2USpF2T92quATeR2w2ZCyBiK9_zh1tvbm-Nuonot_b7Q8HYYRkh2cqCjnvMYrOPYjXhknnAdi706lzHWpBk17lpUK0M5e8OV33-bYiSCXstgVrY/s1600/k8Txbyoip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX4zcIxzgdIhyphenhyphenqtHJPDLIBV4UsBNfTl2USpF2T92quATeR2w2ZCyBiK9_zh1tvbm-Nuonot_b7Q8HYYRkh2cqCjnvMYrOPYjXhknnAdi706lzHWpBk17lpUK0M5e8OV33-bYiSCXstgVrY/s200/k8Txbyoip.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Okay, so in the past year or so, I've been tormented by a stream of White Daddy jokes. I'm not sure exactly where it came from, but I was always really fascinated and horrified by the specific genre of Mama joke that has to do with Blackness. You know: "Your mama so black she...<i>followed by something hella racist about her blackness</i>." <b>If you need a reference, Google it.</b><br />
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Anyway, I started tweeting them to my friend Ross and we went back and forth with it. But then I couldn't stop because they kept coming to me. And I tried to tweet a few out, but it was around the time I was looking for a job and that didn't seem to be helping things, and plus it didn't seem like people really got them. Maybe they still won't; I don't know. In some ways I don't really get them.<br />
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But hopefully people get that <b>a good Yo Daddy So White joke has nothing to do with actual skin color, but the color of a certain type of perception, a white supremacist perception. </b>A perception that actual White people don't even have a monopoly on. A perception that dictates so much of our inner discourse, whatever your race.<br />
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The homie, Rion Amilcar Scott, published them on <a href="http://bit.ly/1VDVG5t" target="_blank">Queensmob</a>, so check them out now before I have to issue my public apology and go into a racism treatment program. </div>
Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-34855163112336923982015-07-31T22:48:00.000-05:002015-09-05T13:45:04.677-05:00Cecil the Lion: No Angel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Haven't you had enough of these people getting all weepy-eyed for Cecil the Lion? <b>Do you see any gazelles getting misty?</b> Everybody's acting like this is some big loss. He had so much potential. He was getting good grades. He said he was gone buy his mama a house one day. <b>Pfft.</b><br />
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Seems like every lion that gets shot these days was getting straight As in school. But let's stop being PC and admit that all it takes to make the honor roll in these safari schools is to take bullets and be on the news. Cecil was eligible for a 2Pac Pell Grant. Big deal. And so what he was headed to college. <b>Community college doesn't count.</b><br />
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I had my suspicions, but I was ready to keep an open mind until I did a little digging and found his Instagram feed. Below are some of the disturbing images I captured before his account was taken down. <b>Please spread the word about the brave White American man who had the bravery to fly half way around the world to make us safe from this super-predator.</b><br />
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And even if these images are not enough to encourage you to change your mind about the hunting, not killing, of that dangerous lion, please support Walter Palmer as he fights extradition to Zimbabwe. Do you know what they do to White people in Zimbabwe? Can you even imagine? <b>We can't have brave White American Men called to account in racist countries that have not received the Light of Freedom.</b></div>
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-64052417253770652232015-06-21T23:15:00.003-05:002015-09-05T13:45:49.457-05:00Innocent Poetry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;">There I was, one morning trying to find the perfect poem to get my students to understand what I meant when I said that their poems were innocent and that they didn't need to mash them into pulp with all of their learned judgments. And then I found this amazing piece by Linda Hogan:</span></h1>
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<a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/249874" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Innocence</span></a></h1>
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<span class="author" style="background-color: white; display: inline-block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0.05em; text-transform: uppercase;">BY <a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/linda-hogan" style="outline: none; text-decoration: none;">LINDA HOGAN</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"></span><br />
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There is nothing more innocent</div>
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than the still-unformed creature I find beneath soil,</div>
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neither of us knowing what it will become</div>
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in the abundance of the planet.</div>
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It makes a living only by remaining still</div>
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in its niche.</div>
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One day it may struggle out of its tender</div>
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pearl of blind skin</div>
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with a wing or with vision</div>
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leaving behind the transparent.</div>
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I cover it again, keep laboring,</div>
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hands in earth, myself a singular body.</div>
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Watching things grow,</div>
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wondering how</div>
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a cut blade of grass knows</div>
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how to turn sharp again at the end.</div>
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This same growing must be myself,</div>
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not aware yet of what I will become</div>
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in my own fullness</div>
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inside this simple flesh.</div>
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-90059068113676037992015-06-13T13:02:00.000-05:002015-06-13T14:00:23.006-05:00Innocence and Revision: The Life of Aaron Rushing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I've been thinking a lot lately about a student of mine, Aaron Rushing, who was a talented writer and guitarist killed in May of last year. The anniversary of his death passed just a bit ago and I wrote something for <a href="http://bit.ly/1L7euar" target="_blank">Gawker</a>. You should check it out. The Chicago Tribune Jazz critic Howard Reich put together a really powerful <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/reich/ct-aaron-rushing-kenwood-jazz-band-20141209-column.html#page=1" target="_blank">piece</a> about his life. Below is a video that accompanied the Tribune piece.<br />
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-88334006660409835982015-06-04T06:15:00.000-05:002015-06-04T08:22:21.295-05:00Open up the door<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Give me schools</div>
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and give me better books, </div>
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so I can read</div>
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about myself</div>
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and gain my true looks</div>
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-22118288415589081932015-05-28T22:01:00.003-05:002015-06-03T14:35:31.849-05:00You need Death in your life...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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If you haven't heard the proto-punk band Death from Detroit, you need to remedy that. If you haven't seen the excellent documentary about these brothers, <i>A Band Called Death, </i>you also need to handle that as well (it's on Netflix). </div>
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-7092163203052696352015-05-23T07:48:00.001-05:002015-06-03T14:34:41.674-05:00Naming Innocence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>Written before the birth of my son Benjamin:</i><br />
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I am the father of a yet unborn son. I see him squirming around in his mama's stomach, and I imagine that he's ready to be in this world. But there is this business of birth and this business of a name. The birth, I'm pretty much an awed witness of, but the name I can help out with. As a man, I know how powerful your name can be to the people you encounter, and how you encounter yourself. </div>
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<a href="https://global.psu.edu/sites/default/files/images/FOR%20EA%20WEBSITE_Visa%20Stamps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://global.psu.edu/sites/default/files/images/FOR%20EA%20WEBSITE_Visa%20Stamps.jpg" width="320" /></a>My name, Abdel, is actually a bit strange. Not in the way that I'm usually prepared for it to be strange, like when I met people in Minnesota and they thought my name was Ed or Bill. Confused white folks thinking I'm strange, Nothing really new there. Or strange like when I served in an Americorps program in the Baltimore public schools, and I introduced myself to a school volunteer, a black woman who could have been my grandma, and she spit my name back at me like a piece of rotten cheese. <i>What is that, foreign? </i>she said. (Luckily, I wasn't a girl because I've been told I would have been Assata and ended up on terrorist no-fly list.) I didn't know how strange it was until I started writing news stories about the Somali community in Minneapolis. My name actually made people smile, for maybe the first time. Abdelshakur. Abdelshakur. Abdelshakur. One day somebody took me aside and let me know how rare (strange) it was to have just Abdel as a first name. "Abdel" is something like servant, or slave, of God, and the second part would be an attribute of God. Shakur means the most thankful. My name says I am the servant of a thankful God. Sounds about right. I had kind of a fuzzy perception about the meaning of the name, but connecting with these Africans made me feel more at home in Minnesota, of all places. My parents didn't know it, but they had given me an entry point into a whole other culture. A whole other experience. A name does that.</div>
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So, naming a son is no small task. It bears a heavier burden than naming a girl. The possibilities are much greater. You can name her Amy or Diamond or Tulip or Faith or Apple or Blue Ivy. Guys are Greg or Paul or Marcus or James. If you get too creative with Black male names, you're likely going to cost them a job (or worse) somewhere down the line. Outside of professional football, I can't think of too many career fields where having a name like Barkevious Mingo wouldn't hold you back.</div>
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And that's the real issue. With this son, we want to give him entree into a world beyond just what goes on in our neighborhood or city or nation. But it's far too easy for black boys to lose their innocence. Or at least to have their innocence unrecognized and then taken from them. And really, what else do we have if we do not have our innocence? What name do you give a Black boy to give him an entry point into a world that recognizes him for who he is, not what history says he should become?<br />
<br />
Really, I don't know that I have an answer. We decided on Benjamin, but if you need a nickname, just call him Loved.</div>
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</div>
Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-52019825233740346452015-05-10T19:58:00.003-05:002015-05-10T19:58:31.892-05:00Moanin'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This has been playing in my class the past two weeks. Not sure why.<br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/__OSyznVDOY/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/__OSyznVDOY?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-76714269018383369782015-05-02T22:02:00.000-05:002015-06-03T14:28:17.817-05:00Blattaria<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I wrote a story about a writer with literary roaches. It got published in <a href="http://www.santaclarareview.com/issues.html" target="_blank">Santa Clara Review</a>, which was great, but the magazine's website was in the middle of an update, which meant that the online edition wasn't available at the time. And I thought it would never be available, which sucked. But I found a <a href="https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/bitstream/handle/11123/822/spring2013FINAL.pdf?sequence=1" target="_blank">PDF</a> of the issue the other day and I still liked it, so here it go.<br />
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<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E72" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E72" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E73" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E73" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blattaria</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E74" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E74" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E75" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E75" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Abdel Shakur</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E76" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E76" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E77" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E77" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E78" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E78" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E79" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E79" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">It </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E80" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E80" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">took two weeks </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E81" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E81" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">in his new apartment </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E82" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E82" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">for </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E83" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E83" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">G </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E84" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E84" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">to realize</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E85" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E85" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> h</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E86" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E86" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">e had roommates. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E87" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E87" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">One morning he looked up from a plate of eggs </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E88" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E88" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">and saw a </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E89" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E89" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">roach </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E90" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E90" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">walking on</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E91" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E91" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> his</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E92" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E92" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ceiling.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E93" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E93" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E94" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E94" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">He dropped his fork, </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E95" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E95" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">took</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E96" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E96" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> off</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E97" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E97" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E98" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E98" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">his shoe</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E99" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E99" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">,</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E100" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E100" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E101" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E101" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">and raised it to strike. The roach </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E102" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E102" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">stopped. G </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E103" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E103" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">missing</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E104" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E104" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> wildly</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E105" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E105" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with the shoe</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E106" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E106" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and a</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E107" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E107" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> chunk </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E108" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E108" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">of plaster </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E109" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E109" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">dropped</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E110" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E110" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> into hi</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E111" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E111" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">s food. The roach</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E112" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E112" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E113" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E113" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">went about its way</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E114" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E114" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E115" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E115" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E116" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E116" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fuck, </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E117" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E117" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">he said</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E118" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E118" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E119" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E119" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E120" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E120" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">But </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E121" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E121" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">there was a rich absurdity to the moment that made him chuckle. This was w</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E122" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E122" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">as one of those “when-I-was-a-struggling-writer” stories people tell while accepting the National Book Award or taping a segment for Oprah’s book club</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E123" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E123" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E124" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E124" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E125" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E125" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E126" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E126" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Later, w</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E127" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E127" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">hile tending</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E128" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E128" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a grilled cheese sandwich</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E129" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E129" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on the stove</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E130" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E130" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, G found a roach </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E131" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E131" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">grooming its profanely long antennae on a nearby pan</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E132" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E132" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. And then there was the one </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E133" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E133" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">pioneering </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E134" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E134" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">through the folds of his bedspread. And then there was the one </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E135" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E135" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">dining on </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E136" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E136" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">toothpaste flakes in his medicine cabinet.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E137" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E137" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> And then there was the one waiting for G and his date</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E138" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E138" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> one evening,</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E139" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E139" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E140" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E140" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Z</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E141" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E141" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">en</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E142" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E142" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">-posed on the front door </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E143" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E143" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">knob</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E144" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E144" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, its </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E145" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E145" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">stillness dist</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E146" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E146" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">urbed on</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E147" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E147" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ly by the screams of a woman</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E148" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E148" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> fleeing</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E149" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E149" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> both man and roach.</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E150" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E150" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E151" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E151" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">G </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E152" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E152" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">realized that this was no charming roach story</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E153" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E153" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. At </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E154" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E154" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">least not a single one</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E155" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E155" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E156" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E156" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">After all, </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E157" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E157" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">charming </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E158" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E158" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">single</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E159" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E159" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> r</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E160" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E160" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">oach stories are all </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E161" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E161" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">lies</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E162" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E162" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of omission</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E163" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E163" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. If </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E164" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E164" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">someone tells a charming</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E165" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E165" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> roach story</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E166" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E166" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, you can be sure they harbor</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E167" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E167" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a multitude</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E168" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E168" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of uncharming</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E169" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E169" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> roach stories.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E170" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E170" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> And nobody gets popular telling those.</span><br />
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E175" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E175" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next morning, </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E176" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E176" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">G</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E177" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E177" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E178" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E178" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">made the bed, smoothing the edges with his hand. He slid into house shoes and headed to the kitchen for coffee. He </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E179" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E179" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">sprayed </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E180" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E180" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">vanilla breeze </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E181" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E181" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">air freshener</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E182" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E182" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E183" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E183" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">drew </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E184" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E184" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">the </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E185" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E185" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">window </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E186" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E186" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">blinds</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E187" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E187" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E188" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E188" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Privacy glass made the windows cataract white.</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E189" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E189" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E190" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E190" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">He </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E191" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E191" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">sipped </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E192" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E192" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">his coffee</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E193" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E193" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, looking around the kitchen. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E194" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E194" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">He’d left a trail of boric acid on the counter. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E195" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E195" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The roaches had tramped through </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E196" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E196" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">it</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E197" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E197" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> like </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E198" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E198" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">school kids over</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E199" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E199" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> fresh snow.</span><br />
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E200" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E200" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E201" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E201" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E202" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E202" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">G flicked on his computer and it h</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E203" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E203" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ummed to life. He cradled his cup and </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E204" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E204" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">reclined in</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E205" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E205" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">to</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E206" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E206" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> his fold up chair. His editor had sent him an email</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E207" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E207" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E208" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E208" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E209" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E209" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E210" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E210" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E211" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E211" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>G,</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E212" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E212" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E213" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E213" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hope you’re good</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E214" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E214" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E215" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E215" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m writing to express my conce</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E216" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E216" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">rn about your novel. To date</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E217" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E217" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E218" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E218" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Manchild’s Promised Land </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E219" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E219" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">is officially three months late. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E220" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E220" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I revered</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E221" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E221" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E222" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E222" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">spirit of the </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E223" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E223" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">first three chapters</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E224" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E224" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> you shared with me</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E225" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E225" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, but we agreed that there were at least seven more to be written. I gave</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E226" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E226" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> you my </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E227" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E227" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">notes and our phone</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E228" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E228" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> conversations indicated </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E229" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E229" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">to me that </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E230" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E230" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">we were clear about expectations</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E231" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E231" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Although there is some po</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E232" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E232" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">werful writing</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E233" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E233" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> here, it</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E234" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E234" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> still lacks an approach that will capture readership. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E235" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E235" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I understand that the epic sweep of this novel is about </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E236" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E236" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">reclaiming the narrative of </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E237" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E237" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Africa</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E238" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E238" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">n-American history</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E239" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E239" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, but for lack of a better expressi</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E240" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E240" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">on, where’s the “realness?” You need to hook this </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E241" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E241" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">generation of</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E242" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E242" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> disenfranchised POC (People of Color)</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E243" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E243" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, not the last. M</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E244" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E244" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">o</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E245" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E245" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">re Kendrick Lamar, </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E246" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E246" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">less Henry Louis Gates</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E247" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E247" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, if that makes sense?</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E248" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E248" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> :\</span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E249" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E249" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E250" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E250" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The cr</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E251" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E251" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ucial thing is that you </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E252" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E252" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">deliver the complete manuscript so we can </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E253" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E253" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">exten</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E254" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E254" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">d our dialog about the trajectory</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E255" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E255" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of this project. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E256" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E256" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I believe in this book, </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E257" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E257" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">and I believe in you :)</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E259" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E259" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> but Cherry Pit Press</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E260" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E260" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> can no longer justify continuing our </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E261" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E261" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">financial </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E262" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E262" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">relationship if you fail to deliver this manuscript by the end of the w</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E263" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E263" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">eek. If you have any questions, my spirit and mind are open</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E264" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E264" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal hideBullet" id="E265" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E265" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E266" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E266" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E267" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E267" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">All best</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E268" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E268" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">,</span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E269" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E269" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E270" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E270" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Helen Fielding</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E271" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E271" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E272" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E272" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cherry</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E273" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E273" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Pit Press</span></i><br />
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E273" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E274" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E274" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E275" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E275" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E276" is="qowt-para" named-flow="FLOW-7" qowt-eid="E276" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E277" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E277" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">G</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E278" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E278" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> laughed at the thought of Helen sitting at a cubicle in a Banana Repu</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E279" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E279" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">lic</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E280" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E280" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> cardigan, thumbing her iPhone to find the </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E281" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E281" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">specific </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E282" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E282" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">music</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E283" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E283" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> reference to convey the</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E284" is="qowt-run" named-flow="FLOW-8" qowt-eid="E284" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> flavor of Oreo she tasted in his manuscript. </span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" is="qowt-para" named-flow="FLOW-7" qowt-eid="E276" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" is="qowt-run" named-flow="FLOW-8" qowt-eid="E284" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">He thought about sharing the email with his dad, but the last thing he neede</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E285" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E285" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">d now was to hear another </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E286" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E286" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">black </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E287" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E287" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">history professor diatribe</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E288" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E288" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> against Skip Gates. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E289" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E289" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">That-old bucky-beaver-looking-motherfucker.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E290" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E290" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> G drew</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E291" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E291" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E292" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E292" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">deep </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E293" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E293" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">from his coffee.</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E294" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E294" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E295" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E295" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The book</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E296" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E296" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was trapped in a never-ending series of revisions. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E297" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E297" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">H</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E298" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E298" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">e</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E299" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E299" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> spent hours in the library research</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E300" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E300" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ing</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E301" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E301" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. H</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E302" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E302" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">e </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E303" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E303" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">sent </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E304" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E304" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">d</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E305" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E305" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">rafts to his father</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E306" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E306" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">,</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E307" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E307" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E308" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E308" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">who hacked </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E309" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E309" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">the manuscript with his illegible red pen. He </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E310" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E310" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">listened to all of </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E311" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E311" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Helen</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E312" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E312" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">’s 29 suggestions, which all contradicted one another. And if that wasn’t enough, </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E313" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E313" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">there wa</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E314" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E314" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">s the story itself:</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E315" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E315" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E316" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E316" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Every time he picked it up,</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E317" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E317" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> all of the voices inside had something different to say, never like they said </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E318" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E318" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">it the last. The word count was growing</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E319" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E319" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> like the population of a small city. </span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E320" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E320" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E321" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E321" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">He read over the email again and decid</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E322" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E322" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ed to just send her what he had</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E323" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E323" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E324" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E324" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">and beg for more time, even if it wasn’t “real” enough yet. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E325" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E325" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">O</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E326" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E326" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">therwise, Bread and Gas Mart would become less his current job and more his future career. One </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E327" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E327" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">d</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E328" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E328" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">eep breath and </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E329" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E329" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">he </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E330" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E330" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">opened the Manchild file. Instead of his novel</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E331" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E331" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, he found a note:</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal hideBullet" id="E332" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E332" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E333" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E333" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E334" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E334" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Dear G,</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E335" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E335" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E336" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E336" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have removed your novel fro</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E337" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E337" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">m this computer. I</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E338" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E338" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">t </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E339" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E339" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">will be erased </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E340" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E340" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">completely if you fail to</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E341" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E341" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> follow our instructions.</span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E342" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E342" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E343" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E343" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our apologies if this seems a bit forward.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E344" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E344" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> W</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E345" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E345" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">hat an honor it is to share </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E346" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E346" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">our home with someone of such immense literary talent. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E347" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E347" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’ve read your novel. I</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E348" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E348" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">t’s a work of genius.</span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E349" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E349" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E350" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E350" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">We should know</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E351" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E351" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E352" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E352" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">We come from </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E353" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E353" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">literary stock. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E354" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E354" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our great-great-great-great grandmother lived in a bathroom sink at the downtown library. She ate binding glue </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E355" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E355" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">and read </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E356" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E356" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chekov </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E357" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E357" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">to her brood </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E358" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E358" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">while they gestated</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E359" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E359" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The smell, the feel, the taste of a well-written page is a part of who we are. </span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E360" is="qowt-para" named-flow="FLOW-9" qowt-eid="E360" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E361" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E361" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">But w</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E362" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E362" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">e need y</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E363" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E363" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">our help to tell our story. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E364" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E364" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">R</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E365" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E365" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">oaches </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E366" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E366" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">suffer from</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E367" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E367" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a perception gap. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E368" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E368" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Humans think we’re all just dirty, harbingers of fil</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E369" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E369" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">th and disease. And many of us are</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E370" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E370" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, quite honestly. But we’re</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E371" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E371" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E372" is="qowt-run" named-flow="FLOW-10" qowt-eid="E372" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">also so </span></i><i style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; text-indent: 41pt;"><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" is="qowt-run" named-flow="FLOW-10" qowt-eid="E372" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">much more</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E373" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E373" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. We </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E374" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E374" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">have hopes,</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E375" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E375" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> aspirations. We want our </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E376" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E376" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">millions of eggs to grow up to be strong</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E377" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E377" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> blattaria</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E378" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E378" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with good character</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E379" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E379" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E380" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E380" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">We want them to not only consume these glorious books, but see themselves in them as well. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E381" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E381" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">And not simply</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E382" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E382" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as some irritant or problem to be solved. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E383" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E383" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">O</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E384" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E384" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ur nymphs need to aspire for more than to end up squashed on the sole of a tennis shoe.</span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E385" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E385" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E386" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E386" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Quite simply, w</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E387" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E387" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">e need you to add a roach to your story. A brief</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E388" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E388" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">,</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E389" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E389" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> sympathetic description of a single roach. You de</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E390" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E390" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">cide where. W</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E391" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E391" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">e could have added t</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E392" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E392" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">he roach ourselves, but </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E393" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E393" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">we’re confident </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E394" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E394" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">you</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E395" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E395" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">r talent</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E396" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E396" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E397" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E397" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">that </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E398" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E398" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">will help</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E399" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E399" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> us </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E400" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E400" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">truly </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E401" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E401" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">live on th</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E402" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E402" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">e page</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E403" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E403" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. If we</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E404" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E404" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> encourage brillian</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E405" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E405" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">t writers like yourself,</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E406" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E406" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> maybe the world</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E407" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E407" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> will see the </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E408" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E408" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">true </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E409" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E409" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">value of a roach’s life</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E410" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E410" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a roach’s soul</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E411" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E411" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E412" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E412" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E413" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E413" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E414" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E414" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grant us this favor and</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E415" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E415" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> we’ll not only return your manuscript, but we’l</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E416" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E416" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">l never darken your door again. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E417" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E417" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E418" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E418" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E419" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E419" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Best,</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E420" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E420" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E421" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E421" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Roaches</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E427" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E427" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E428" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E428" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">*</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E429" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E429" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E430" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E430" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Ms. Mason’s </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E431" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E431" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">8</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E432" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E432" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 0; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap; zoom: 0.75;">th</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E433" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E433" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> grade </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E434" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E434" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">social studies class</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E435" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E435" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, G wrote</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E436" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E436" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a story called “Tak</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E437" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E437" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">e Me Home,”</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E438" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E438" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> about an ancient African ghost named Manchild who wept for his lost children, stolen away to toil forever in a distant l</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E439" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E439" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">and. The story had</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E440" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E440" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> slavery and </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E441" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E441" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">slaves and </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E442" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E442" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">slave ships and slave mas</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E443" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E443" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ters. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E444" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E444" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whip lashing</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E445" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E445" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Cotton </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E446" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E446" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">pic</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E447" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E447" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">king</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E448" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E448" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Pregnant mother selling</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E449" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E449" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. White houses. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E450" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E450" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Slave quarters. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E451" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E451" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mustachioed masters in big h</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E452" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E452" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ats.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E453" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E453" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> All the while, Manchild wept for his children</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E454" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E454" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E455" is="qowt-para" named-flow="FLOW-11" qowt-eid="E455" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E456" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E456" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ms. Mason’s </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E457" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E457" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">horn-rimmed glasses </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E458" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E458" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">steamed with tears and she</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E459" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E459" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> broke when she read the story</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E460" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E460" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> aloud to the class. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E461" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E461" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">She</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E462" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E462" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E463" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E463" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">felt so strongly, she arranged for him to read it at graduation and </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E464" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E464" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">entered it </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E465" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E465" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">into a national young writer’s competition, which he won. B</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E466" is="qowt-run" named-flow="FLOW-12" qowt-eid="E466" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">y all of the judges’ estimations G was the clear </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 2.4; text-indent: 41pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">winner.</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E467" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E467" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E468" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E468" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">W</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E469" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E469" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ith his father</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E470" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E470" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">,</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E471" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E471" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E472" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E472" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">he traveled to </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E473" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E473" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Washington </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E474" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E474" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">to</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E475" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E475" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E476" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E476" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">accept </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E477" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E477" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">the award. He shook hands and listened while people said nice things about his writing and his future. His father sat in the front row of the large banquet hall, flashing a toothy grin and clapping louder than would seem possible or appropriate. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E478" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E478" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">His father’s antics would have irritated him at any other time, but </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E479" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E479" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">G </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E480" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E480" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">was gleefully tracing his name in the in the shiny award. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E481" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E481" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The presenter with th</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E482" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E482" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">e long grey hair</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E483" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E483" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> called </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E484" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E484" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">him the</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E485" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E485" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> heir apparent </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E486" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E486" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">to Richard Wright. H</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E487" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E487" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">e didn’t know who Richard Wright was, but he </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E488" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E488" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">sure </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E489" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E489" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">couldn’t wait to be him. </span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E490" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E490" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E491" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E491" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">*</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E492" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E492" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E493" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E493" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">T</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E494" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E494" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">he frosted windows </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E495" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E495" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">glowed</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E496" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E496" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with mid-morning heat. A glaze of cold sweat spread</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E497" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E497" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E498" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E498" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">on h</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E499" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E499" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">is brow. He could smell two-day-</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E500" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E500" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">old banana peel marinating in the trash</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E501" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E501" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. G read the note </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E502" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E502" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">again. T</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E503" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E503" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">he novel was gone. It was there and then it wasn’</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E504" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E504" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">t. All versions kaput. He bit his tongue</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E505" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E505" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and his mouth watered. </span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E506" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E506" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E507" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E507" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What the hell wa</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E508" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E508" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">s a library roach anyway?</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E509" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E509" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E510" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E510" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">He frowned at the screen. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E511" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E511" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What exactly wa</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E512" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E512" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">s</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E513" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E513" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the harm of adding one bug?</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E514" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E514" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E515" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E515" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">After all, </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E516" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E516" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bigger Thomas bat</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E517" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E517" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">tled</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E518" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E518" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E519" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E519" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">psycho </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E520" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E520" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">monster rat</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E521" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E521" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the first scene of </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E522" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E522" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">Native Son</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E523" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E523" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E524" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E524" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">But that wasn’t </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E525" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E525" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">what these roaches w</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E526" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E526" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ere asking for</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E527" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E527" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. They wante</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E528" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E528" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">d a sympathetic roach. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E529" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E529" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">A roach you wouldn’t want to smash with your shoe. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E530" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E530" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">G drew </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E531" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E531" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">a blank</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E532" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E532" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> trying to recall any African-American classics</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E533" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E533" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E534" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E534" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">friendly bugs </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E535" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E535" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">of any kind, let alone roaches. </span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E536" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E536" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E537" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E537" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">That night, G </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E538" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E538" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">sat</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E539" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E539" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on the couch so he could </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E540" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E540" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">surveil</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E541" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E541" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> his computer for intruders, but s</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E542" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E542" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">leep ove</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E543" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E543" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">rtook him. He awoke to the chirping of birds. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E544" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E544" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">On his computer, another note:</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal hideBullet" id="E545" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E545" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E546" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E546" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E547" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E547" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why don’t you get some rest</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E548" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E548" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">? You look terrible.</span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E549" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E549" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E550" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E550" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Signed,</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E551" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E551" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E552" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E552" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Roaches</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal hideBullet" id="E553" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E553" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E554" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E554" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E555" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E555" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Looking</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E556" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E556" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at himself in the mirror, he could tell the no</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E557" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E557" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">te was correct. His eyes were</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E558" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E558" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E559" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E559" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">swollen and red</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E560" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E560" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E561" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E561" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">His scalp was dry and flaky. His cheek twitched. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E562" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E562" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">But c</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E563" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E563" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">alling in sick to Bread and Gas Mart would probably mean being fired. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E564" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E564" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">G wiped crust from his eyes and slapped cold water against his face</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E565" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E565" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E566" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E566" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E567" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E567" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">He could have sworn he saw a roach hanging off the shower curtain behind him, but when he turned, it was gone. T</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E568" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E568" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">he roaches were making an effort to avoid him now.</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E569" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E569" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E570" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E570" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maybe this was all a grand sign from the big man himself. Maybe God was telling him to get out of sadness swamp and just let go. I</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E571" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E571" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">f things didn't work </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E572" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E572" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">out with the novel or with Cherry</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E573" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E573" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Pit, then he would just have to get over it </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E574" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E574" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">and move on. He </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E575" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E575" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">could</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E576" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E576" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> just write something </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E577" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E577" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">else</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E578" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E578" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The idea felt so dangerous and inevitable and obvious.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E579" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E579" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E580" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E580" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">It also occurred to him that he should buy a bug fogger. Several.</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E581" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E581" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E582" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E582" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">G rode the bus </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E583" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E583" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">home </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E584" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E584" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">as usual. He fought a yawn and turned one of the boxes of insecticide a</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E585" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E585" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">round in his hand. This was a new day. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E586" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E586" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">A day to s</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E587" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E587" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">crub clean the apartment and start fresh. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E588" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E588" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">A day to l</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E589" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E589" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">eave Manchild and his tragic brood behind.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E590" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E590" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E591" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E591" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The story and all of it. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E592" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E592" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The roaches could keep the novel, he would keep his integrity. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E593" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E593" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">As he slipped his key in the lock, however, </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E594" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E594" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">his resolve faltered.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E595" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E595" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E596" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E596" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">G prayed desperately to </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E597" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E597" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">God </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E598" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E598" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">that his novel be returned. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E599" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E599" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">He looked at the</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E600" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E600" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> computer screen:</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal hideBullet" id="E601" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E601" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E602" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E602" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span id="E603" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E603" style="display: inline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>G,</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E604" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E604" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E605" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E605" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shame on you</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E606" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E606" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E604" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E604" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E606" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">No, your manuscript </span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E604" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E604" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E606" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">is not here. We want </span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E604" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E604" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E606" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">to help. Work </span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E604" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E604" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E606" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">with us. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E607" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E607" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Please.</span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E608" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E608" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E609" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E609" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sincerely</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E610" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E610" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">,</span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E611" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E611" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E612" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E612" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Roaches</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E613" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E613" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E614" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E614" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>PS: You need groceries.</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal hideBullet" id="E615" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E615" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E616" is="qowt-para" named-flow="FLOW-14" qowt-eid="E616" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E617" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E617" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The fucking </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E618" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E618" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">balls,” G yelled</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E619" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E619" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. "Now they're using enjambment in their demand letters!" It seemed like an appropriate response in his min</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E620" is="qowt-run" named-flow="FLOW-15" qowt-eid="E620" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">d, but hearing it </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" is="qowt-run" named-flow="FLOW-15" qowt-eid="E620" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 41pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">out loud</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E621" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E621" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 41pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, made his face flush.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E622" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E622" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 41pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> He lined </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E623" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E623" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 41pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">six canisters of roach bomb in the middle of the r</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E624" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E624" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 41pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">oom and snatched</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E625" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E625" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 41pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the tops off,</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E626" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E626" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 41pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> each erupting in a hissy plume.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E627" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E627" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 41pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E628" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E628" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E629" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E629" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">After a</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E630" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E630" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> long walk</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E631" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E631" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> around the neighborhood, the apartment</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E632" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E632" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E633" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E633" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">was </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E634" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E634" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">thick with </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E635" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E635" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">chalky poison.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E636" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E636" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> On the computer was another note:</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal hideBullet" id="E637" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E637" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E638" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E638" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span id="E639" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E639" style="display: inline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>G,</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E640" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E640" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E641" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E641" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Tick tock, tick tock. One roach, one roach. </i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E647" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E647" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E648" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E648" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">All b</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E649" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E649" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">est,</span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E650" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E650" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E651" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E651" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Roaches</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E652" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E652" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E658" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E658" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E659" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E659" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">G cradled his head</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E660" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E660" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in his hands</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E661" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E661" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. No one would return the calls of a writer who accepted an advance and didn't finish a book. He </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E662" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E662" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">tried to calm himself with a </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E663" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E663" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">deep breath, but the insecticide sent him scrambling to the toilet to vomit. G l</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E664" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E664" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ooked up from the bowl</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E665" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E665" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Three large brown roaches looked down at him</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E666" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E666" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from the ceiling</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E667" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E667" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E668" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E668" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E669" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E669" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Okay,” he said, delirious.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E670" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E670" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> “You win. I’ll add the roach, just give me my story back.”</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E671" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E671" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E672" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E672" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The roaches waved their antennae and scurried away. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E673" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E673" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">How was this his life?</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E674" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E674" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> he thought.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E675" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E675" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> He tried </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E676" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E676" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">to hold them, but the tears came quick and hot</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E677" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E677" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E678" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E678" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E679" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E679" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">He returned to the computer. His complete novel was open on the screen, just like he’d left it before.</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E680" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E680" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> He laughed and clapped his hands, in spite of himself.</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E681" is="qowt-para" named-flow="FLOW-16" qowt-eid="E681" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E682" is="qowt-run" named-flow="FLOW-17" qowt-eid="E682" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">It occurred to him that he could save the file on a flash drive and tell the roaches to stick it, but </span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" is="qowt-para" named-flow="FLOW-16" qowt-eid="E681" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" is="qowt-run" named-flow="FLOW-17" qowt-eid="E682" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">he remembered that they had promised to leave his apartment for good. He wasn’t sure about the value of a roach’s promise, but he figured </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E683" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E683" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">he might as well try because </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E684" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E684" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">the only thing he had to lose was roaches.</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E685" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E685" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E686" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E686" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">He scrolled through the novel and </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E687" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E687" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">quickly </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E688" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E688" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">implanted the creature in the scene where Manchild witnesses Frederick Douglass address a room full of white abolitionists.</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E689" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E689" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E690" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E690" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">Douglass </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E691" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E691" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">towered</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E692" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E692" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E693" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E693" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">over</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E694" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E694" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the crowd. His hair fluffed like a dark storm, his eyes trimmed with lightning, his voice rumbling with th</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E695" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E695" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">under. Manchild looked on</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E696" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E696" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E697" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E697" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">Douglass testified </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E698" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E698" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">about </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E699" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E699" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">the ability of words to explode</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E700" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E700" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E701" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E701" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"> shackles</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E702" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E702" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of hatred. Everyone was</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E703" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E703" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E704" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E704" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">transfixed by the </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E705" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E705" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">master orator. Even a small</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E706" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E706" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"> roach sat attentively at one corner of the stage. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E707" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E707" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Douglass</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E708" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E708" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was finally silent, the assembled mass leapt to their feet</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E709" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E709" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the rafters rumbled with applause</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E710" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E710" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and cheers. Manchild wept</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E711" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E711" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E712" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E712" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E713" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E713" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E714" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E714" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> insecticide haze made G dizzy, but he couldn’t help but smile. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E715" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E715" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was silly. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E716" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E716" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The roach would have to go, no matter how benign. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E717" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E717" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">But maybe that would be enough to make them happy for now. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E718" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E718" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">He </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E719" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E719" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">turned and </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E720" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E720" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">tried to open</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E721" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E721" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> one of the windows</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E722" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E722" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for some fresh air</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E723" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E723" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, but it was stuck. Suddenly</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E724" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E724" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">,</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E725" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E725" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E726" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E726" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">a bolt of inspiration</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E727" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E727" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> struck</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E728" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E728" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E729" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E729" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">He sat at the </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E730" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E730" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">keyboard and the words rattled</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E731" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E731" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from his fingers. All the voices in the novel were speaking to him, but now they were all saying the same thing. Half conscious of what he</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E732" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E732" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was writing, the flow was magical</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E733" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E733" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Hours passed and the light in the windows softened and turned to</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E734" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E734" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> shadows. H</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E735" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E735" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">is chest </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E736" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E736" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">swelled </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E737" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E737" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">when he typed th</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E738" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E738" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">e last line. He scanned</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E739" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E739" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the manuscript</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E740" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E740" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and then sent it off to his dad and to Helen.</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E741" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E741" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E742" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E742" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">H</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E743" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E743" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">e </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E744" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E744" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ate boiled hot dogs in celebration and fell asleep.</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E745" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E745" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E746" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E746" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">*</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E747" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E747" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E748" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E748" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next morning, G checked his email. The first was from his dad:</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal hideBullet" id="E749" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E749" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E750" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E750" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E751" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E751" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Son,</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E752" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E752" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E753" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E753" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>I’m a little confused by your latest draft. What are all these goddamn roaches doing in your book? Who put you up to this? Give me a call. We should talk.</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E754" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E754" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E755" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E755" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Dad</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E756" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E756" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E757" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E757" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i> </i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E758" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E758" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E759" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E759" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Next from Helen:</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E760" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E760" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E761" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E761" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>G,</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E762" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E762" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E763" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E763" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh my God: brilliant</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E764" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E764" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> :)</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E766" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E766" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E767" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E767" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<i><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E768" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E768" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t know what to say, </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E769" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E769" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">but you did it. Navigating the pathos of these</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E770" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E770" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> painful vignet</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E771" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E771" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">tes </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E772" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E772" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">with roaches was a stroke of </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E773" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E773" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">provactive </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E774" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E774" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">genius. Thematically it provides so many layers and gives the story a magical realism that makes the narrative fresh and i</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E775" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E775" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">nviting. I</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E776" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E776" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">’m working on some more substantive n</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E777" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E777" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">otes for you, but this is going to be huge. You’ve done it. We need to talk about how we’re going to sell this thing. Awesome.</span></i></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E778" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E778" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E779" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E779" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Best,</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E780" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E780" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E781" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E781" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Helen</i></span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal hideBullet" id="E782" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E782" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E783" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E783" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E784" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E784" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">He opened the manuscript and there they were. There were</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E785" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E785" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> roaches all over his novel</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E786" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E786" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">: scurry</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E787" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E787" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ing</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E788" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E788" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E789" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E789" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">the </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E790" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E790" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">musket fi</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E791" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E791" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">re that felled Crispus Attucks; helping</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E792" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E792" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Harriet Tubman hold steady a shot</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E793" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E793" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">gu</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E794" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E794" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">n </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E795" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E795" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">on</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E796" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E796" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a cowardly runaway slave; trekking </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E797" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E797" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">northward through Ma</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E798" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E798" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">tthew Henson's </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E799" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E799" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">snowy </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E800" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E800" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">footprints; licking clean the </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E801" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E801" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">gun sites</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E802" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E802" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of a Tuskegee Ai</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E803" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E803" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">rmen on a cold Florence morning; swingi</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E804" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E804" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ng from the zoot suit </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E805" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E805" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">pocket chain</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E806" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E806" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of Detroit Red as he stalked the streets of Harl</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E807" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E807" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">em; marching on</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E808" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E808" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> southern lunch counters with “I Am a</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E809" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E809" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E810" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E810" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Roach” signs held aloft; yanking</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E811" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E811" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the bus chime for </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E812" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E812" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">a defiant Rosa Parks; tossing </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E813" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E813" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Aretha Franklin’s pillbox hat in celebration at the inauguration of the first Black president</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E814" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E814" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. E</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E815" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E815" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">verywhere.</span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E816" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E816" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E817" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E817" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">He heard </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E818" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E818" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">a clicking behind him on the</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E819" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E819" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> kitchen counter. A roach stood there, flapping it</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E820" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E820" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">s wings. And then another stepped beside him</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E821" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E821" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. And then another. And then another. They came from all corners, all crevices. The ceilings and walls were thick with small flapping roaches. Their applause sounded like rain. </span></div>
<div class="qowt-stl-normal" id="E816" is="qowt-para" qowt-eid="E816" style="color: black; display: block; font-family: Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', Arimo, 'Microsoft Sans serif', sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 2.4; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 41pt;">
<span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E823" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E823" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 41pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">G could think of nothing else </span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E824" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E824" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 41pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">to do, except</span><span class="qowt-font1-TimesNewRoman" id="E825" is="qowt-run" qowt-eid="E825" style="display: inline; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Tinos, 'Baskerville Old Face', 'Bell MT', serif !important; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 41pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> bow.</span></div>
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-56430369161204345632014-12-30T08:09:00.000-06:002015-06-03T14:27:35.648-05:00Turning Their Backs on Justice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgk3afVhTcqE9dInn28JTYf-57clGhBKwWFyJeUW2pDq9diSH0wq69aZwDa11C_XusQMqahOs1rCsIyt3TW-IcP1sXgruVUWamUbo44g27AnBD5Rrir3U2P7M6ZjfA0j2MJ2C5yOJS8uFW/s1600/cops+turned+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgk3afVhTcqE9dInn28JTYf-57clGhBKwWFyJeUW2pDq9diSH0wq69aZwDa11C_XusQMqahOs1rCsIyt3TW-IcP1sXgruVUWamUbo44g27AnBD5Rrir3U2P7M6ZjfA0j2MJ2C5yOJS8uFW/s1600/cops+turned+back.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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If the police want to <a href="http://nypost.com/2014/12/27/cops-turn-backs-on-de-blasio-as-he-takes-stage-at-funeral/" target="_blank">turn their backs</a> on NYC mayor Bill DeBlasio, that's their prerogative. They are citizens and have the right to make a political stand, even on their jobs. To assail that right is to assail the 1st amendment rights of all workers. Unlike the military, they have a union that can sound the alarm when something is wrong in the system. In this way, the political expression of police is deeply tied to the health of our democracy. <b>And that's why the stand that many in the political leadership of police unions have chosen to make has been both disappointing and unsurprising. </b><br />
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Talkingpointsmemo.com has an interesting <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/police-unions-critics-backlash" target="_blank">article</a> about the reactions of police unions to widespread police brutality protests. The article notes that police are feeling under threat and their political leadership is more aggressively answering their critics. The back-turning on DeBlasio is the most high profile, but before that <span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">Gabe Crocker, president of the St. Louis County police association, was </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Droid Serif, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">publicly</span></span> demanding "discipline" for what he deemed the "misconduct" of Saint Louis Rams players who protested with a Hands Up salute before a game.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHuCHax85ChK8iTS-ze0Eg2lghsm0I7jt6IzkIWKOUUpwCIafbqBN3C-JofKBAVm956lnqRVz51-lLcD9ggyYDuyoeOxoJxkxwQzsry5kpnZtE0j2hwfOs0ndk4pbtZvl1YVCZkbhVOEw/s1600/st-louis-rams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHuCHax85ChK8iTS-ze0Eg2lghsm0I7jt6IzkIWKOUUpwCIafbqBN3C-JofKBAVm956lnqRVz51-lLcD9ggyYDuyoeOxoJxkxwQzsry5kpnZtE0j2hwfOs0ndk4pbtZvl1YVCZkbhVOEw/s1600/st-louis-rams.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Note to Rams Players: Hands up only denotes innocence <br />when you're catching a football. For a touchdown.</b></td></tr>
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The article talks about the shift in philosophy in law enforcement after 9/11, that went away from community policing to counter terrorism and how it lead to a deterioration in community relations. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">Charles Wilson, national chairman of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, puts it this way:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">"People just don't think the system is working fairly for them. In some respects, I have to tell them, 'No, it's not,'" he said. "The basics of community policing are still the same. You have to understand the people in the community. You have to be able to gain their trust and respect.</span></blockquote>
Now that's a start. We need police union bosses to make more speeches about the ways that the integrity of police work has been undermined by the prison industrial complex: how officers are encouraged, and sometimes <a href="http://www.upworthy.com/meet-the-17-year-old-who-blew-the-lid-off-racial-profiling-with-his-ipod" target="_blank">required</a>, to put as many black men in jail as possible, no matter their innocence or guilt; how decades of <a href="http://www.drugpolicy.org/race-and-drug-war" target="_blank">corrosive drug policy</a> has snatched whole generations of black lives, either on street corners or behind bars; how some municipalities use the court system as a fundraising enterprise, ensnaring poor communities in a web of <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/09/ferguson-might-have-break-its-habit-hitting-poor-people-big-fines" target="_blank">exorbitant fees</a> for tickets and court services; how police lives are <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/gun-deaths-increase-officers?utm_content=buffer362b5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank">endangered </a>to enrich the lives of white collar criminals on both sides of the law. Give that speech and I'll burn all my hoodies, remove Chief Keef from my spotify, and give out free belts to all the children with the lowly pants. <b>Ha-lle-lu-jah.</b><br />
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Instead, they want to talk about respecting the law. They want to talk about accountability. They want to talk about "impoverished culture." <b>They want to restrain us with bootstraps and Cosby sweaters.</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cos Conspiracy Note: <b>Cos is no conspiracy victim. If ever the people who conspiritate <br />needed his pudding pops and victim blaming, they need it now. Don Lemon ain't cutting it.</b></td></tr>
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One of the main dilemmas that police as a political force have is a simple equation that hasn't changed much since this country was a tiny Slavecom startup: <b>demand for police is proportional to White fear of Black men.</b> There are whole libraries with laws designed to imprison black bodies. And there's a job, with a badge and a gun, for each of those laws.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhtoNDHVzy5B_iRLxWV4-a8rhErtQ2OJtI3rdqNgduyhq5FPf1phS6EXUdCZAglSQtSIlmwXSQVCMYEhtcorlCWWL-FTi8w65fSL0JyCmh1jD4ox9Ed4NJjiRognQUvtJbgGwcL2B4OZnp/s1600/20120213_slavery_33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhtoNDHVzy5B_iRLxWV4-a8rhErtQ2OJtI3rdqNgduyhq5FPf1phS6EXUdCZAglSQtSIlmwXSQVCMYEhtcorlCWWL-FTi8w65fSL0JyCmh1jD4ox9Ed4NJjiRognQUvtJbgGwcL2B4OZnp/s1600/20120213_slavery_33.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slavery Note:<b> Amendment 13 doesn't ban slavery, it bars <br />involuntary servitude "except as punishment for crime". </b></td></tr>
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It's no slander to police at large to point out this connection. In its most humane form, police work, whether it's in America or Europe or Africa or Asia or wherever, ensures that justice and the rights of the afflicted are protected. <b>We are, quite simply, how we police.</b> The people who are willing to take up this responsibility, <b>people of moral conscience and humanity</b>, should be honored for their sacrifice. They tend to us in our most human, and inhuman, moments. They can restore a sense of order and hope to shattered lives. The problem is that the inherent injustice of the system makes it so hard to act morally, especially when such action threatens political capital.<br />
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It would also be hypocritical as a teacher to deny the connection my profession has to the justice system. Teachers can pretend like we don't see the prison pipeline awaiting our students at the door, but it's there. <b>Ask a prisoner where they learned their first lessons about systemic brutality and they'll probably direct you to an elementary school classroom.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/26_02/edit262.shtml" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp3jBTm6psF4RPaA6P-EwdH3MkFcI6000M8y77-9CfeSh0l8mzFHrgGOP__pTjhui6K2K_rqPMRl9XaigqrXNIm5k52jPkvZfFeh7-vM0chqMhg4pKu145rdRtWGD6SOqsC6jUGm1aMmNy/s1600/edit.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; line-height: 11px; text-align: left;">Illustration: Seth Tobacman</span></td></tr>
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And that's one of the reasons that it's so important to have organized teaching labor that has the opportunity to have a voice, even if that voice has been compromised by self-interested politics at times. Think what you want about Chicago's teacher strike a couple years ago, but <b>who else was willing and able to put the corporate takeover of our school system on blast? Who else but Karen Lewis was calling out the inherent racism in the setup?</b> Teacher's unions are far from perfect, but who else is going to be left to speak on behalf of poor children of color once they're gone?<b> </b><br />
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And that goes the same for police. Teachers have to defend ourselves from critics who say that we care more about our salaries than reforming the educational system that inequitably serves the children in our care. In order to have any credibility within the communities they work, <b>police have to show they are advocates in reforming a racist justice system designed to destroy the lives of poor people of color.</b> It's a tall order, that flies in the face of entrenched economic and political interest, but anything less is criminal.</div>
Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-62558371316625690542014-04-27T02:43:00.003-05:002014-04-27T03:11:46.441-05:00Rain poured like a mirror of heaven: The Writing of Don Belton<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ross Gay got me thinking more about Don Belton lately. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It takes some digging to find actual words from the man. But those words.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://belton.indiana.edu/~belton/collection/images/beltonselfportrait.png"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX0CaWxN2i5-sTrqlky273CIwwzRpaiisSE0TiWph2YgP9z0bZmwdYs7cvUlscJcZsbal5cf-q2Q-kr61h-uIoR5RKMDDa0BCTM9jSsUICEm__VkAprQPm_sIHCtBx9CNv7MhWg8ctftlS/s1600/beltonselfportrait.png" height="400" title="" width="261" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://belton.indiana.edu/~belton/collection/images/beltonselfportrait.png">Self-Portrait</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You should do yourself a favor and read his story, <i><a href="http://indianareview.org/don/">The Pentacostal Bridegroom</a> </i>that was published in Indiana Review back in the day. The story of a preacher who attempts to deliver herself through faith from the cancer that consumes her thoughts. </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; line-height: 25px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 17px;">Odessa lay in bed awake. Mr. Deal lay beside her hard asleep. The time was soon for the sun to rise. She moved to the edge of the bed and sat, her feet moving to find her slippers on the floor. She murmured as she rose in the dark, “Good morning, Father Jesus.” Then she hissed at the Devil, “Satan, you can’t have my life today.”<br />Her fo</span>otstep<span style="font-size: 17px;">s cracked against the wood of the ragged floor. Odessa was lean and tall with hair that lay like smoke around her head, shoulders and back. She came and sat at the dressing table, turning on the kerosene lamp.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">“Ride on, King Jesus.”</span><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">She braided her ferocious shock of hair into three braids, then folded and pinned the braids together at the top of her head. Inserting the last hairpin, her fingers stopped, and she stared at her image in the dressing table mirror.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">When Odessa watched her face in the mirror, she did not see herself as others might see her: a once-radiant girl turning mysteriously attractive in age. To her, the face in the mirror was nothing more or less than a hallmark of her covenant with God. God had promised to fortify her life and keep her in health and grace. Each hair on her head was numbered. God had numbered every one of her bones.</span></span></blockquote>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">The story is Beautiful, in the classic sense. It enters the world of its characters and illuminates their goodness. Belton well knew that the we perceived goodness, the more aware we could perceive beauty, which is our only real hope. The story feels like a sermon, but only in the ways that make you feel cared f</span><span style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">or. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Belton had an essay called <a href="http://www.beaconbroadside.com/broadside/2010/01/don-belton-voodoo-for-charles.html">Voodoo for Charles</a> that was featured in the anthology he edited, called </span></span><i>Speak My Name: Black Men on Masculinity and the American Dream. </i>The essay<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;"> hinges on the moment when Belton's nephew, Charles, called him to let his uncle know he was on the run for attempted murder. Belton, as a disciple of Baldwin, is a master of metaphoric, authentic, powerful image that serves Beauty and shatters on the same line. In the essay there is a moment where Belton describes him and his older brother being caught in a rain storm when they were kids. </span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The following is one of my earliest memories. It emanates
from both my memory and my imagination. It is literally true, however, in terms
of the organic infrastructure informing my life, it has the quality of
supertruth. Once, when I was four and staying in <st1:city w:st="on">Philadelphia</st1:city> for the summer, my brother and I
were walking home from Sunday school. The afternoon was sultry-hot. We were in
no hurry to get home. I held his hand, as I always did when we walked down the
street together, and he swung our arms in a jovial way. Soon we heard thunder
and saw the zig-zag lightning. The swinging of my arm slowed. As we walked, we
were caught in the downpour.<br />The rain pounded so hard it hurt my small body. I had never
been outside in weather like that, away from home, in the street, without my
mother or my father. All I had was my brother to protect me. He was lanky,
athletic, almost as tall as my father. We began to run. The rain poured like a
mirror of heaven. My brother held my hand tight. Lightning flashed, thunder
rumbled, and I began to scream and cry.<br />I stopped running, and my brother stopped. I couldn't move.
I was too terrified. I believed I would die. God was angry. He was tearing up
the world and washing it away. I fully realize now what I only realized then in
part, that my brave fourteen-year-old brother was terrified too. But he said,
"It's all right. I'm with you. I'll get you home." This vow was punctuated
by a burst of thunder so loud it threatened to crack open the street before us.
My brother took me and ran first in one direction and then another. We rushed
along the flowing curb. Then we were standing near a tree. We had reached the
elementary school building two blocks from our house.<br />"We're almost there," my brother shouted over the
ringing wind. "Do you want me to carry you?"<br />"No," I said, "I'm scared."<br />"All right," he told me. "We'll rest for a
little while."<br />We ran from the tree to the awning leading into the school
building.<br />As soon as we came up against the closed glass entrance,
there was a big burst of lightning. For an instant the world went white. The
skin of my neck and arms tingled. We held each other. I felt his heart leaping
just above my head, but he held me, and I didn't cry. We stood there holding
each other until the rain slowed. Then we walked home in silence.<br />My father was sitting in the living room, reading the
newspaper. My mother came out from the kitchen. I was excited. I wanted to tell
them how my brother had saved me from the storm and brought me home safe like
he promised. "You better take off those wet things," my mother said
immediately. "Go on upstairs." As we turned on the stairs, my father
said my brother should leave his clothes off when he removed the wet things and
remain upstairs in the bathroom. He said that he'd received a call from church,
that <st1:city w:st="on">Wayne</st1:city> had
stolen money from the Sunday school collection. My father had also found money
missing from the coin collection he kept hidden in our basement. He was going
to whip my brother.<br />The terror I'd felt in the storm returned. My father was a
strong but soft-spoken man. I waited in the bathroom with my brother until our
father came in with the piece of ironing cord. Wayne and I had been sitting on
the rim of the bathtub. He was naked except for his blue jockey shorts. I had
dressed myself in my Daniel Boone outfit. I held my brother's hands, telling
him not to worry. His saffron body was still marked from the last beating he'd
received from our father that summer.<br />Our father put me out, but I turned and stood at the door. I
could see him through the slightly opened door, lashing my brother's legs and
back with the cord. At first <st1:city w:st="on">Wayne</st1:city>
fought back and my father lost his balance for a moment near the sink. He
righted himself and bore down on my brother, muttering and striking him,
lashing him into the floor with the ironing cord. I ran downstairs to my mother
in the kitchen. I told her to call the police. I said Daddy was killing <st1:city w:st="on">Wayne</st1:city>. She did not move.
Had she ceased to be our mother? It was a long time that we stood in the
kitchen, listening to the lashing and crying upstairs before she said flatly,
"He's got to learn. Your father is beating him because he loves him. He's
beating him so the police won't have to."</span></blockquote>
<div style="background-color: white;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Goddamn we lost a great writer, a great man.</span></div>
</div>
Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-57850578013011700192014-01-24T23:14:00.002-06:002017-09-21T10:13:02.219-05:00Teaching While Awed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinfVTQmpy_fZB_So0F8uhBhfvzJJwDoMjQ06gisgUe8Iq4TPBmC_xLp5BPVeqcdBl_05Dg7qwSsID3wjNbLY0Pls35P4mcNWW9vcMKruTe1MNgDOe5yoWGunn-1ntBs43VqBrvOJST_7zI/s1600/Sunflower-reorientation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="900" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinfVTQmpy_fZB_So0F8uhBhfvzJJwDoMjQ06gisgUe8Iq4TPBmC_xLp5BPVeqcdBl_05Dg7qwSsID3wjNbLY0Pls35P4mcNWW9vcMKruTe1MNgDOe5yoWGunn-1ntBs43VqBrvOJST_7zI/s320/Sunflower-reorientation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
It's been a couple of weeks since I <a href="http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-5-stages-of-grading.html">wrote </a>about grading papers and I've been thinking a lot about one of the most important experiences I left out when reading student work: Awe.<br />
<br />
In Parker J. Palmer's The Courage to Teach, he talks about how important awe is to good teaching. Awe is about witnessing, not dissecting. Awe is not about grading, but appreciating.<br />
<br />
A teacher needs to have a sense of awe for their subject, meaning recognizing that something within your area of study is greater and far more encompassing than the limits of your comprehension. We are drawn to that large weighty thing in the same way we're drawn to this huge spinning rock in the middle of the universe. Awe gives gravity to our teaching.<br />
<br />
(Side note: children, who have not been robbed of their innocence, are deeply in touch with their sense of awe--and that's why they are the best students.)<br />
<br />
So, I have to stay in touch with the staggering and humbling feeling that I've only scratched the surface in my understanding of the literature that I present to students. I could teach a book like Fahrenheit 451 a thousand times and still not feel like I've found everything there is to appreciate. I have to feel like I have a lot to learn, not because I'm so ignorant, but because the material is so great. And when I stop feeling that, maybe I shouldn't teach it. And maybe I should change professions, too.<br />
<br />
But that's not the only type of awe that's vital. I also need to allow myself time and space to be awed by the children I teach. That means that after completing all of the "work" of grading and responding and entering and conducting the "business" of teaching, I have to set aside time to appreciate the beauty in the writing of my students.<br />
<br />
This type of beauty ain't always easy to see, but in order for me to really know my students, I have to be observant and present enough to be awed by them. I have to recognize some essential good thing in their work that connects to some essential good thing in the material we're exploring in class. If I can't see a connection, I'm not the teacher to help them discern the connection themselves, and the class will be a waste of time.<br />
<br />
But if I am able to help them connect their goodness, there are few things more powerful than a classroom glowing with the awe of true learning. Yup.</div>
Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-41010074832215227832014-01-02T23:30:00.001-06:002017-09-21T10:20:55.170-05:00The 5 Stages of Grading<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Another winter break is drawing to a close, and this is the time when I get most misty-eyed about my life as a teacher. A time for reflection on the beauty and majesty of the profession I've been called to.<br />
<br />
It's also the time when I've got a lot of grading to do. The kids cheered when I said I wasn't going to give homework, and I felt good for them. But with the school bell echoing in my ear, and the students sprinting off towards their break, I started to enter my stages of grading.<br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>Step 1: Denial and Isolation</u><br />
<u><br /></u>
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<br />
Looking at your inbox stacked high with papers needing to be graded, you'll look at them, take a deep breath and mouthfart something about a teacher's work never being done. Besides, grading all of your students projects at once couldn't be that difficult. It might even be fun. You grin through your lying teeth and isolate yourself from the papers.<br />
<br />
If you live alone, you drop them heavily in your empty house, giving added pathos to your Ikea coffee table. If you have a family, you drop them heavily on the dining room table or some other very public place. Everyone should know about all the fun you're going to have grading awesome awesome papers at home instead of relaxing.<br />
<br />
So yeah, you're feeling a little confrontational. And that's why it's a good thing that you just want to isolate yourself. Any conversation you have with a member of your family is going to involve that cue of student essays. No one wants to be around you because you're denial is wearing off. You stink of resentment. You are starting to realize that you are going to spend hours and hours grading. <b>The suck.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<u><br /></u>
<u>Step 2: Anger</u><br />
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<br />
Now you're starting to get pissed off. You sit down to see what the papers look like and you are angry. How dare you have to spend all this time reading the thoughts of these pipsqueaks, these ne'er d'wells, these cusses! What they need is for you to go Joe Clark on them! And so what, almost all of them completed it! They didn't do it good enough! And that's because they weren't paying attention in class and didn't take the learning seriously! <b>You're so angry that it starts to feel good. </b><br />
<br />
<u>Step 3: Bargaining</u><br />
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<br />
Well, perhaps things are not that bad, you think. Perhaps there's a way to keep the whole class from failing with their terrible, terrible papers. Perhaps there are a complex series of algorithms that will help drag them up from the depths to which they have fallen. You start looking at the grades and seeing what happens if you increase the value of the signed syllabus assignment to 1000 points.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>But looking at your students in this way makes you feel unlike yourself.</b> You've become a pencil pusher. An accountant. A box checker. You're Ben Stein reading the roll. Beueller. Beueller. Beueller. You feel like a phony.<br />
<br />
<u>Step 4: Depression</u><br />
<br />
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<br />
You are a goddamn phony. This whole time, you thought you could teach, but instead you're just really good at sucking. And look what you've done. You've gone ahead and warped the minds of scores of children. You haven't been teaching them anything, and on top of that, anything they did learn, they learned it wrong. Their minds will be forever misaligned <b>like stripped screws.</b> Ruined by a charlatan.<br />
<br />
This is the point where whatever coping mechanisms you've developed over your lifetime start to kick in. Whether it's your family or your religion or your cat, or even a 1/2 gallon of ice cream, you're going to need them. <b>Teaching clarifies the soul, it doesn't tend it.</b> Not in this context anyway. You need a way to renew yourself to be effective. And more importantly to be human. So handle that.<br />
<br />
<u>Step 5: Acceptance</u><br />
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<br />
You're buoyed by the positive lift you got from your renewal source. You pull out the papers and you take things from a different approach. Flipping through the papers, you stop seeing them as a mass of work, further documentation of your horrible teaching. Instead, you listen to the voices behind them. You read them with the ear of someone who is actually trying to hear what the author is saying, instead of just waiting for the right moment to interject a critical remark. Even in the most garbled writing, if you listen closely, you can hear the voice that wants to be heard.<br />
<br />
Hopefully as you hear the child's voice, you don't let yourself get sucked into your comfortable role as evaluator. If you do, you'll probably go all the way back to Step 2. But if you can, just pull back for a minute and realize that the world of this child is bigger than you could ever imagine. Your class, your teaching, occupies space, but you are just one of many teachers. <b>Your job is not to judge who they are as people, but help them be qualified to judge it for themselves. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>But, you also have to assign a grade to the daggone things. In the end, the integrity of the learning requires transparency. A kid deserves to know where they stand, no matter the education they've received. <b>The barber should not hesitate with the mirror.</b> So, you grade them and make as many helpful comments as you can. Re-articulate the objectives for the assignment, and just as importantly, find something in their thinking to praise. Even if it takes a while.<br />
<br />
Finally, you will need to frame the experience for your students. After they get their papers back, they need to hear what you heard in their work and how that will affect the learning from here on out. All of this takes time.Time you don't have because you got so good at Step 5, and its resultant insight, that you thought it best to <i>write</i> about grading the assignment, instead of <i>grading</i> the actual assignment.<br />
<br />
You might say that's a new level of Stage 1 Denial, <b>but we all know a teacher's work is never done. </b></div>
Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-12828188311922886792013-12-08T10:24:00.000-06:002013-12-08T12:05:55.009-06:00A Teacher's Presence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
During my first year of teaching, I studied the faces of my students for the answers to a host of questions: Do you respect me? Do you think I care about you? Do you know that I don't know what I'm doing? Do you think I am a good teacher? Do you know that I'm afraid? Do you like me? Essentially, instead of seeing my class as a room full of individuals, most days I stood up and saw row after row of fun house mirrors, reflecting my own deficiency. <b>I looked to their faces not to find out who they were, but to find out who they thought I was. </b><br />
<br />
As a result, I suspect the person in my classroom who learned the most during that year was me. I learned a lot about what my students thought about my teaching. Some liked it, some hated it, and some tuned out. But the most depressing outcome was that instead of being about learning, my classroom continually slipped back into a referendum on how good I was at my job. We had great moments in class, and there were students who did amazing work, but it wasn't until later that <b>I figured out that in order to teach effectively, you have to be present enough in your class in order to see the person you are teaching.</b><br />
<br />
Instead of being guided by a question about external impression,<b> the most important question a teacher confronts is <i>Who am I?</i></b> This is the true essential question for learning in my classroom and before I can get my students to grapple with it, I have to be fully engaged with it myself.<br />
<br />
<b>Not only do students need to see that I have considered the question, but they also have to see that I haven't stopped asking it of myself</b>. They need to see that the point of the question is not to provide an answer that can be bubbled in on a Scantron (male, female, teacher, student, black, white, poor, rich) but instead that the process of observation and reflection required by the question is the goal.<br />
<br />
Paradoxically, the more I'm engaged and present with the question, the more clearly I'm able to see the individual sitting in front of me. <b>Instead of seeing only myself in my students eyes, I start to see who they are and, perhaps, who they could be.</b> I use this knowledge to shape a classroom experience and curriculum that communicates what I've witnessed. In that way, one of the most important elements of teaching is the ability to witness. It's not coincidence that the first question a witness in court is asked is: Were you present...?<br />
<br />
One of the reasons that teaching is such a challenge, especially early on, is that presence is not something you can just pick up when you step in the classroom. <b>You have to manifest presence in your life overall in order for it to be effective in your class.</b> Some days I'm good at it, some days I suck at it. My bag of tricks has expanded over the years, but when I get stuck in class and the learning is stagnant, I still confront the same old questions that I did during my first year, but now I know those questions are secondary to the true matter at hand: How present am I? How present are my students? How will the things we're learning make us more so?<br />
<br />
Just the other day I stumbled upon Parker J. Palmer's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Courage-Teach-Exploring-Landscape/dp/0470580704">The Courage to Teach</a>, where he says: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Good teachers possess a capacity for connectedness. They are able to weave a complex web of connections among themselves, their subjects, and their students so that students can learn to weave a world for themselves. The methods used by the these weavers vary widely: lectures, Socratic dialogs, laboratory experiments, collaborative problem solving, creative chaos. The connections made by good teachers are held not in their methods but in their hearts--meaning <i>heart </i>in its ancient sense, as the place where intellect and emotion and spirit and will converge in the human self. </blockquote>
I<b>t's probably no coincidence that in a time when our technology is purposed to promote an illusion of connectedness, that teaching is under <a href="http://slate.me/1ghDP2m">assault</a>.</b> Listening to the discourse around education, you would have thought that "true" education only started with "reform" or whatever buzzword being recently applied to schools. But people have been teaching for as long as there has been humans, and no matter <b>the era, the best teachers are still those who are most connected with themselves, with their students, with their subject, with the world. </b></div>
Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-35127809087076775632013-12-07T08:41:00.002-06:002013-12-07T08:43:03.209-06:00Sonny goes in<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-76900318032978431262013-08-02T22:23:00.000-05:002013-08-03T08:25:55.665-05:00N Team Six<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Misstra Knowitall received a disturbing communique from Eric Snowden, the former government contractor turned whistle blower. Snowden decided to finally release the most damning government secret the American government does not want you to know about. <b>What secret would shake the pillars of our government to its absolute core?</b><br />
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The President of the United States has a highly specialized team of secret service agents whose only mission is not to protect Barack Obama from assassins, <b>but to protect him from being called a nigger in public</b>.They are known as <b>N-Team Six</b>.<br />
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You might have this thought: <i>Nobody would call the President of the United States a nigger to his face!</i><br />
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<b>Slap yourself for having the previous thought.</b> There is always someone out there willing to call a black man a nigger, no matter what color house he currently receives mail at. <b>Make a note.</b><br />
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Secondly, remember this?<br />
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Captivating isn't it? Just imagine all the (additional) bombs we would have had to drop on Baghdad <b>if even one of those loafers would have connected upside W's fragile bird skull.</b> Cheney and Rumsfeld would be tripping over their scythes to connect the whole thing to Iran's nuclear program. Yellow Cake on the Isotoners. Next thing you know:<b> WWIII</b><br />
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With Obama, that the threat is even more pronounced. You don't even have to throw a shoe. <b>All you need is one shaky Youtube video with the President out at some political function, crossing paths with a redneck who wants to get famous.</b> There's been a couple of near-misses in the past.<br />
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<b>Joe the Plumber</b><br />
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This doofus asked a single question in a slightly confrontational way and overnight became a cross between Walter Conkrite and America's Next Top Model.<br />
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<b>Janet Brewer</b><br />
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She scolds the President of the United States like he was a valet at Steak and Shake and gets on the New York Times Bestseller list. <b>Meanwhile, Michelle is the angry black woman.</b><br />
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And then there's this guy. <br />
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During the President's state of the Union address he got up and called the leader of the free world a liar. You know as he was sitting there, palms sweating, practicing what he was going to say, <b>it had to occur to him that he could write his name in history forever if he stapled that little six-letter word to the back of his outburst.</b> (Relative) good sense may have prevailed, but according to the Snowden files, the scene could have ended much differently..<br />
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The President's anger is clear in the tape, but what's not clear is the purpose of his elbow shift right afterwards. According to the documents, that gesture is the secret presidential signal to the N-Team Six snipers in the top balcony. <i>No, he didn't call me a nigger. </i>Joe Wilson doesn't know how lucky he was that night..<br />
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Aside from disturbing the President's boiling reservoir of ancient slave
anger, resulting in dead rednecks, there is a bigger concern. <b>When you think about it, America having Black president is an absurdity. </b>It
becomes even more absurd when you realize that it's in the national
security interest of this country to make sure that said President is
not brought to the "nigger level". That's the same country that employs
the President to maintain the "nigger level" in the first place. <b>So, if they assassinigger the President, we could potentially see a fracture in the space-time continuum. </b><br />
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But these threats to our security are not just domestic. According to Snowden, there's been quite a few times where an insult to the President almost resulted in the button being pushed.<br />
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<b>Chinese President <span class="st">President Xi Jinping</span></b><br />
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<b>German President Angela Merkel</b></div>
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<b>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu</b></div>
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<b>Russian President Vladamir Putin</b> </div>
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<b>Afghan President Hamid Karzai</b></div>
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So, let us not forget the unsung bravery and valor of the people who really keep this country safe: N TEAM SIX. <b>We salute you.</b></div>
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-75386741672577958852013-07-10T14:56:00.002-05:002013-07-10T14:56:20.738-05:00Good Hands<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164220375200882525.post-50061328492572824242013-06-29T00:36:00.001-05:002013-12-06T21:56:59.023-06:00Obama Faces the Throne<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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At first, Obama rushing down to see a stricken Mandela it reeks of political expedience. It's not like he's got much else going on. Stay in Washington and have to talk about secrets and firing Eric Holder? Or get out of the country and have a presidential moment with one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century? </div>
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Seems like an easy choice, but I think we also forget that for most of his life, the US considered Nelson Mandela a terrorist. Billions of American dollars were made while black South Africans were murdered. <b>And when you think about it, Robben Island is really just the precursor to Guantanamo Bay.</b> So as great as people say Mandela is now, the American mainstream has always been a leery about the man who married Winnie and fought alongside Fidel Castro. If anything, this costs him political points. </div>
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But I think this might be good for the President. In this country, Black people have invested our last bit of hope in this man and that makes us a little less than objective. Obama's very image has become such a cure-all for Black people in America. <b>No matter the ailment, just rub some Obama on it. </b></div>
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<li>Broken leg? Splint your leg with a picture of the President shaking hands with Bo the dog. <b>Your bones will heal themselves, overnight. </b></li>
<li>Depressed because a classmate got shot? Watch the inauguration again, while rubbing your forehead with a picture of Aretha Franklin's hat. <b>All your cloudy days will become bright. </b></li>
<li>Caught in a prison industrial complex that grows and grows? Make eleven blindfold one handed free throws. <b>Be filled with a sense of accomplishment to enjoy the rest of your days. </b></li>
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But not everyone's buying that in South Africa. According to this New York Times <a href="http://nyti.ms/1aVYzrS">report</a>, there are protests planned across Soweto. He's getting an honorary degree at Johannesburg University, but some students will protest outside. Two major political groups have suggested that the President be put in chains when he arrives (oh, the irony) for <span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">“war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide”. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">“When President Obama was ushered into the world, there was a promise for change of policy, like the closure of Guantánamo Bay, and how he is going to respond to the dispute between Israel and Palestine,” Phutas Tseki, the regional chairman of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, said in announcing his group’s participation in Friday’s protests. <b>“Now he is on his second term, and he continues to be arrogant, and his policies continue to entrench American power to the whole globe without any change.</b>”</span></blockquote>
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It's hard to find a lot to argue with there. I think Black people's support of Obama lets us lose sight of the greater diaspora. We have a duty to criticize this man if he's not doing right by us, all of us. If we can't do that, then maybe it would be better to have a white man be president. <b>Maybe we could be more honest with ourselves.</b> At least with a white man we would more clearly see that our president, despite being one of the best presidents this country ever had, is planting the Corporate American flag right in the backs of the people who lifted him high.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">“There is now among the students a feeling that Obama has done nothing to the advantage of South Africa, and has only continued the American policies around the world that we thought he was going to end,” Mr. Levy said. <b>“He is a visitor of our government, and we do not object to that, but we do object to his being honored by our university and we want to make sure he hears our calls that he follow through on the promises he made.”</b></span></blockquote>
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I hope that whenever Mandela makes his transition, he makes it in peace and full comfort. But I also hope that our president has time to sit at this great man's throne and consider his own legacy.<br />
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Abdel Shakurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04245104256959807029noreply@blogger.com0