1. I think it registers with some of my students: Mike Rose, in his article "Blue Collar Brilliance", advocates for the diverse intelligence required by blue collar work and argues strongly against the idea that blue collar workers are less intelligent than professional, white collar workers who have more formal education. My students who have done construction work, are movers, work in print shops, have worked in grocery stores know all to well the condescension directed at blue (and pink) collar workers. I like hearing them get fired up and seeing them enjoy having an ally in Mike Rose.
2. I make it a regular thing to get off the bus at Safeway on Thursdays, walk to Cornucopia, wait for the Deke, have a beer or a margarita, and enjoy myself. The Deke arrives, she orders a glass of wine, we shoot the breeze, and decide whether to go to Billy Mac's. Tonight, we decided not to go and shared a plate of Hot Wings and got everything we needed to figured out -- which was nothing.
3. My New Yorker reading friends might tire of me longing for the writers long gone in that magazine whose style and content I enjoyed more than many current writers for the magazine. Now they can hear me be happy! A piece of Joseph Mitchell's writing appeared in the February 11 & 18, 2012 issue of The New Yorker and I enjoyed being transported by Mitchell to a New York City I can never know and a style of writing I rarely experience any longer. I'm really glad The New Yorker ran this piece, even though Mitchell has been dead for nearly seventeen years.
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