ALL THINGS REMEMBERED

Now I have to admit I got strong mixed emotions on this slide from the EARTHS MATERIALS GRADE 2 curriculum. Let's talk about the images on the left. Remembering the target audience and the nature of the way some of them got here there is the possibility of making them relive the trauma. PTSD remember?

Unlike the image from WATER COUNTRY these are ALL children of color. I guess this is what they meant when they were bragging about how LYNN students could see themselves in it.

So let's look at the pictures on the right and you'll see where my emotional quandary comes from. Countless times I have told you all where I'm from and seeing these pics makes me forget about question the age appropriateness of discussing bathroom habits with 7 year olds but instead makes me a little homesick.

Even though 99.9999999999% of WV has INDOOR PLUMBING, these images do cause me to reflect back to a simpler time for me. Like memories of the last family reunion I attended at ARNOLD PARK in LEADMINE located in TUCKER COUNTY, probably 25 years ago..The facilities there included an OUTHOUSE but it was a two-seater. Fancy, huh? Before you start talking about privacy concerns, just how do you think NETWORKING began?

Then there was the time working at my job at the ELKINS MOUNTAIN SCHOOL when a child/client reminisced with GREAT pride how his OUTHOUSE had electricity. I guess it makes it better for reading,

OUTHOUSES have also played a pivotal role in my literary career as one of my earliest compositions. I've re-posted it below from my THE POETRY BENEATH blog,   :

The Poetry Beneath

Wednesday, September 15, 2010
"ODE TO AN OUTHOUSE"
I first wrote this poem a little more than twenty years ago. I included it in my first book, "Behind The Veil". It was my first favorite poem. The inspiration for this poem came from my work at the Elkins Mountain School, a residential behavioral treatment center for young boys. There I constantly observed the tragedy of young lives corrupted by their environment.


ODE TO AN OUTHOUSE


Built new from old boards
it has seen many seasons change,
even though this is its first winter.

The odor is strong but it
smells not of itself. Others have
contaminated its bowels and beyond.

Not part of the house, it must
stand alone and remain behind.
No vision, no thought.

Labeled a relic, we demand it must
be replaced with a shiny porcelain jewel.
Progress knows no compassion.