one of my students works at a shoe store in an outdoor mall here. i went to visit him at work last night because he told me he was saving a pair of shoes for me that he thought i might like. he even went so far as to photograph the shoes on his phone so that i could see them. so, last evening when i left school at 6:30, i went to his store and tried the shoes on. they're dark tan leather, very plain, with the seam down the center, with a flat rubber sole. there's something hilarious about them, because of their sheer unassuming utility. i bought them. he used his employee discount.
that same student had loaned me a cd: david cross's "it's not funny," long ago, before the summer, and it had sat on my desk for months. when i got home with my new shoes last night, i listened to it, finally. cross's humor is designed chiefly to shock (racism, abortion and poverty jokes), but he also expresses himself very well in regards to our government, putting into words a certain level of incredulity about the current administration that i think we all feel. it was satisfying to listen to him. i did laugh out loud two or three times while listening to the cd, but mostly i sat and quietly appreciated it, feeling vicariously vindicated in some small way. cross's unfettered criticism of our country, though i wouldn't say it gives me hope, makes me appreciate freedom of speech, and how important and precious it is.
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