Category Archives: Lessons

The Record

Posted on January 20, 2011 by sputterpub

When I was 10 and in fifth grade, the teacher showed us something I’d never known. It was an afternoon in early spring. Mr. Borup wanted us to hear a piece of music, which was not unusual. He walked over … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons, School | Leave a comment

Hot Pink

Posted on January 19, 2011 by sputterpub

   When I was 14 I had a vivid demonstration of the paint chip illusion. The paint wasn’t actually chipping. The term referred to small squares of color on strips of light cardboard, with dramatic names printed below them. Stores that … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons, Poetry, Writing | Leave a comment

Blowhard

Posted on January 18, 2011 by sputterpub

     When I was 11, a swastika was painted on our driveway. I have a muddled memory of the event now, but I immediately understood that it was bad, it was for me, and it was frivolous. I saw it … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons | Leave a comment

Musical Chairs

Posted on January 14, 2011 by sputterpub

     When I was around 13 I was immersed in hormones: my own and those of all my schoolmates. What had started in 4th and 5th grades as the occasional crush in the unusual kid then grew prevalent. Everybody was … Continue reading →

Posted in Legends, Lessons, Poetry | Leave a comment

Respecting Elders

Posted on January 14, 2011 by sputterpub

     When I was 9, I got kicked out of Sunday School. We lived in Chula Vista and attended a conservative synagogue, and I guess it is more accurate to say I was asked to leave class and not return. Probably … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons | Leave a comment

Ugly Duckling

Posted on January 11, 2011 by sputterpub

   When I was 14 I got my period. I was so retarded my mother almost took me to the doctor about it when finally she got to slap my face (gently and with love, in the tradition of her mother, … Continue reading →

Posted in Legends, Lessons, Poetry | Leave a comment

Bad Words

Posted on January 10, 2011 by sputterpub

  When I was young, I never heard my parents swear. I never saw my mother read a book. I thought at first that’s just the way they were, but as I grew I learned that they were adjusting their … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons | Leave a comment

Comp Lit 1B

Posted on January 7, 2011 by sputterpub

  When I was 18 my comparative literature professor blew my mind. We all had to take two quarters of English or Comp Lit or Dramatic Arts or Speech (soon to be called Rhetoric), and I would have enrolled in English … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons, School | Leave a comment

How To

Posted on January 6, 2011 by sputterpub

  When I was around 10, I gave up thumb-sucking. My parents had tried to talk or trick me into forsaking the activity for as long as I could remember, but it was fear of peers that inspired me. I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons | Leave a comment

My Medical Blessing

Posted on January 5, 2011 by sputterpub

When I was 35, I kind of reinvented myself. It wasn’t my idea to rupture that ovarian cyst, and it wasn’t really my doctor’s fault when she made that judgment call and decided not to open me up at first. … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, Lessons | Leave a comment