A Curious Find

Found this at a random thrift store during my break while working in Sparklecity. I know it doesn't look like much to most people, but I was drawn to it. In a packed, old, dusty warehouse it was the only item that didn't have a price tag. I held up the turquoise caddy to the lady at the counter. She was sitting at an old second-hand keyboard staring at a beginner piano book ... I can only assume trying to figure out how to play. Over her head the shelves of random forsaken items now deemed treasures sagged as they were joined by a mammoth TV blasting an afternoon soap.
With a deep accent showcasing a long southern heritage she growled, "You interested in that?"
I nodded. She gave me a careful once over and said, "Bring it here and lemme give it a look."
I took it to the counter as nonchalantly as possible. It's best to show those who wheel-and-deal that you have only a passing interest in any item or they'll drive the price up. (Learned that from my older sister -- who is a queen at yard saling.)

She carefully ruffled thru every little bit -- I have no idea what she thought could be hiding in this stash of papers. I could smell her cigarette breath as she counted out loud. I tried to look interested in the random jewelry on the counter.
She rasped out, "I guess I'll take $15 for it."

So I shrugged my shoulders and walked away looking at some mid-century planters -- a personal favorite. I was torn. That was a high price I thought, but it was relative. I was very curious what was written in those papers. So I asked her some random questions about the planters and showed great interest in a pastel one ... I really did like it and didn't have one of the same color. It's a funny dance of knowing when to barter and when to just let it go. I asked her what some other items were that I couldn't care less about and praised her taste in choosing some unique circus pieces. She just glowed and started to tell me about her business. I wasn't disinterested; I find people fascinating. But I knew I was just making her like me and want to give me a deal. So I put the planter on the counter and said I'd take it. I didn't even bother to haggle the price. She rang it up and bagged it. I asked if she'd throw in the papers for $10. Somehow, some family's personal records seemed worth two drinks at Starbucks. (How sad.)

the old stationary box housing the letters

She was happy to oblige. She said it belonged to a local spinster she knew who grew up in Sparklecity. So I left with a curious treasure.
The contents are 2 pictures, a box of letters, handful of old stamps torn off of envelopes, one picture hanging wire, an old outlet plug and a couple of items torn from newspapers.

At home I laid out all the items and tried to figure out how they went together. It really is a mystery puzzle. I finally figured out that the letters spanned over 50 years and were to different members of the family. There was only one love letter. The subject of most letters alluded to family events that seemed more sad than good. The newspaper clips are by far the most puzzling.

Stack of letters in the box

Anyway, in this and subsequent posts, I just want to share with you what I learned about the Davis family of Briarwood Road from the bits of ephemera left in this box and since abandoned by the family to this curious stranger.

It would seem that the "spinster" member of the family who kept all the letters was named Mary Davis. Her mother was Mattie (don't know if it was a nickname or not). Mattie received some very interesting letters from her sister ... especially during the Depression. Times were hard!

However, I'd like to share one letter that Mary got from what appears to be a pen pal from England. We have no idea how they met or how long they corresponded. For some reason, Mary only kept one letter they exchanged.
(For the record, someone nicknamed "Doc" was either a relative or close friend of the Davis family and also served during WWII. He's mentioned not only in this letter but in other letters from the same time period.)

I love that I opened these letters and they were left on the last page as if they had just been read by the owner. But I digress. Here's a letter -- exactly how it was written -- from P. Bark of Cheltenham, England, to one Miss M. Davis, of Spartanburg, S.C. Mailed on August 14, 1947.

Dear Mary,
Many thanks for your letter received a short while ago. I do enjoy hearing from you over there. No doubt you understand the feeling of loneliness now you have lost your friend -- after friends are married I find they change somehow -- of course I have plenty of acquaintances but am rather fussy regarding my real friends. Of course when Doc was over here am afraid I gave very little of my spare time to my girl-friends -- each evening when Doc was free from duty we always went out some place especially at the week-ends.

First page of letter from Pat

I was certainly very thrilled to hear about another package on the way for me -- you have no idea how much I appreciate your kind thoughts -- of course the hose will be handled with great care and worn on high days and holidays. I do love good hose but over here everything like gold to purchase -- you have probably read that we are expecting further cuts in our rations! Am afraid I cannot remember the last time we had peaches, we rarely ever see them.
Have you had your vacation yet? Do tell me if you went to the sea or up on the mountains. Just recently I have seen several Americans over here, no doubt they are on furlough visiting friends they made when stationed over here.
Last Saturday I spent rather a pleasant day -- all the afternoon I played tennis -- do you play this game very much? And then after tea, one of the girls from the office and myself cycled 5 miles outside Cheltinham to a small village Fête. These surrounding villages are so small that the church funds are very low, so in order to raise money -- each year during the summer they have fête. It was held in a large field where stalls were erected and various competitions were carried on including sports of various descriptions. There was a scuttle competition the prize being a real pig -- I tried hard but could not win some. There were three lovely horses there so my friend (just a casual one) had real fun trying to ride! Have you an interest in horse-riding? We both felt exceedingly stiff after our game of our cycle ride and horse-ride, but we really enjoyed everything. I believe the total sum realize was L300 which to such a small place meant very very much. The minister is going to have a new hall built where meetings can be held during the week. I do not know if you can picture these quaint village churches still with oil lamps and only chairs, the congregation only numbers about 10 at an evening service.
My sister's baby Patricia Ann is getting really lively. She has large blue eyes (not a bit like the Back family we have all the same hazel eyes.) My sister has just given her a bath and I have taken her up to her cot, she does not take long to go to sleep and is a very happy and contented baby. Before Patricia came I was not a lover of children, but since she has been here I have changed a few of my ideas as she is so lovable.

return address from England w/post mark

Do you ever go swimming? We have many open-air baths -- but since the awful outbreak of Infantile Paralysis spreading over this country at various places most of these baths are closing down. Many children from our secondary schools were disappointed as holidays had been planned for them to visit the homes of various children in Holland and Belgium, then the children from Holland were praying to return visit to England. Unfortunately all this was cancelled at short notice.
Have you seen any good shows recently? Last week I saw the film "They Were Sisters" featuring James Mason and Phyllis Calvert. I quite enjoyed it as the story was quite unusual. A few weeks ago I went to a dance at our Town Hall, but did not enjoy it very much, the music was terrible loud and brassy, perhaps that helped to spoil my evening.
How do you spend your time in the evenings? Have you found yourself a new boy-friend yet?
Now I have changed my office I find my work much more interesting -- am trying to catch up on my short-hand but have decided to go to evening classes during the winter months. Since I left school am afraid my shorthand has suffered from not enough practise.
Well Mary I am afraid I cannot stop for more at the moment. Please give my regards to Mr. & Mrs. Davis. I trust they are both very well. Do write again soon.
Must Close
Kindest Thoughts
Pat


Some interesting notes on the letter:
1. What is a fête? a festive outdoor party especially common in England
2. What is this game of scuttle? Who knows? But I did find this definition: British English: scuttle -- When people or small animals scuttle somewhere, they run there with short quick steps. (maybe it's a quick foot race?)
3. How bad was rationing in England during WWII? doesn't sound like a piece of cake!
4. What is Infantile Paralysis? Polio -- see a brief history here
5. Tell me about Cheltenham! OK, I think I'd like to visit here too!
6. Want to read some other fascinating exchange letters during WWII? My personal favorite -- "84 Charing Cross Rd"
7. What about this movie: "They Were Sisters" (a melodrama dealing with spousal abuse)

So, there is much more to this collection of memories of one family. I'm enjoying exploring this slice of Southern life.

More to come ...

Adjunctory Madness

So, if I'm to believe all I'm reading lately about adjunct teachers ... I'm in big trouble. We adjunct professors/lecturers/instructors are at the bottom of the bottom in the academia world. Yikes? According to Ivan Evans, professor of sociology at UC San Diego,

" ... faculty are far more complicit in the sacking of public higher education than we are prepared to acknowledge. One of the best indexes of this is the arrogance that ladder-rank faculty display towards adjunct/part-time faculty/"lecturers" in our own departments. As with the caste system, there are so many categories for them, all of which serve the purpose of the Brahmins in the Academic Senate. 
We -- and here am I tempted to specifically include you [on the list] alongside myself in this condemnation, but won't because there's always a small chance that some of you/us are exempt from these generalizations--in fact appear to take some pride in treating adjuncts as an inferior caste. It is the norm for adjuncts to be excluded from faculty meetings and to be deprived of any say in the management of departments. Instead of resisting the "adjunctification" of the professoriat by incorporating these colleagues -- because they are colleagues -- into the university and our respective departments, we tolerate them as useful proof of our Brahmin status. They are our untouchables.
And we treat them accordingly."
It's true that we don't receive the same pay and definitely no benefits. We live on a semester to semester basis -- never completely sure if we'll get classes and how many.

What's even more shocking ... upon reading up more on this topic ... is that adjuncts account for 50-75% of the academic workforce.

 I can only tell you what I've experienced in this realm. I taught full-time for 12 years with benefits. I was exhausted by all the extra duties and conflicts between instructors. But I did have those benefits. I decided to take a break and try something else. I had great difficulty in finding another job. I was told I was "too" qualified. I didn't have any "managerial" experiences -- don't get me started. My work experience (although faithfully working at one job since graduation) was not in the business world. So, apparently, I had nothing to offer the workforce. The only places I could get work were adjunct teaching positions, so I snapped those up to pay my bills. Wouldn't you?

To be perfectly honest, I see the upside to adjunct teaching. Yes, I don't get benefits, but I also don't have to go to numerous meetings about nothing. I don't have to spend countless hours in my office for student advising. I'm never asked to attend department functions and have to go to make sure my department head sees me and I get my schmooze time in. I don't have to fight and claw my way up the ladder to tenure. I don't have to spend countless amounts of my time politicking and obsessing about getting published. All I have to do is teach. Do I care that another adjunct teacher is politicking with my department head in order to get the next full-time opening? Nope. Honestly, I like that all I have to worry about it just teaching. Because that's what I like to do. I don't need to be famous and published and the department darling. I just want my students to be successful. But, this does bring a price. Check out this example of an adjunct's schedule: (taken from here)

One adjunct on the Steering Committee teaches 6-9 courses per quarter at a bewildering array of campuses in the Bay Area. I do not have a good enough grasp of the geography of that region to understand exactly why:

• she hits the road at 5:30 am to make her first class;
• teachers non-stop from 8am - 5 pm (including travel time as she whizzes at breakneck speed from one campus to another)
• takes her first and only break from 5-7pm
• teaches again from 7-9pm
• holds her office hour from 9-10pm (yes, that's PM)
• checks in at a $49 /night motel on Highway 101 (in a town called Gilroy); and
• repeats this schedule three times per week.

On a "good day", she remains in the Berkeley area where she resides and teaches at 2-3 colleges. No contract, no benefits, no representation in the Senate. At the beginning of the Winter quarter, she was informed that one course had just been re-assigned to another adjunct "who needs the course more." Just like that, income that she is so vitally dependent on, and in fact cannot survive without, was taken away--by email, without prior notification and for a reason that is as inscrutable as it is uncontestable.

Yeah, I was exhausted just reading that scenario. I also teach at two different schools. It's enough for me to survive, but not enough for the summer. I have two other part time jobs that I use to fill in the gaps. The dropping of a class at the last minute is something I also experienced this semester. I had been consistently teaching four classes at one university and then inexplicably the week before school started I was only scheduled for three. I wasn't told it happened, it was just given to someone else. (I found out later that a full-time instructor wanted my full section. Students sign up for class the semester before knowing who their instructor will be.)

Now, imagine being down $600 a month with no notice to prepare. That definitely is a big sting. I'm not the kind of person who freaks out, but I definitely like a little notice. And for the first time, I complained to my department.

(Don't think about the fact that the full-time professor makes 60k or more a year, while you make 2k a class -- sometimes teaching the exact same thing.)

The story of the adjunct from Duquesne University, Margaret Mary Vojtko, who taught for 25 years and died tragically and penniless is all over the Internet. It is sad to think that a college professor was living below poverty level with her house falling down around her. Do I think that could be me someday? I certainly hope not. I don't think I'd be that dedicated to any school.

The more I looked into the world of adjuncts, the more depressing it seems. There are numerous articles and resources telling you how dismal my world is. Except, I don't feel that dismal. I know I don't make comparable money. I don't have benefits. I get it. But, today I have work and I need to prepare for tomorrow. And I'm OK with that.

It's my future and my life. I have zero desire to be dependent upon politicking with professors to secure it.

re-birth, sort of

So, this person that I highly respect told me that you have to have a blog and get hooked into all the social networking. I'm pretty much accustomed to Facebook, but I've found it to be a two-edged sword. You know, it's sooo cool to troll around and find out what everyone is doing -- from elementary friends to current co-workers -- and then one day you realize: heck, that person's life is so much more interesting and fulfilling than mine. Did the kids I used to babysit really just buy their own home and are starting on their third child, while having just come back from a trip around Europe?

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​It goes without saying that it's super easy to become either self-satisfied or self-loathing when comparing yourself to all of your "friends" on Facebook. "At least I don't have THAT kind of trouble. Or, glad I still have my hair. Or even, how could he put something so ignorant as his status?" If I feel good about myself for even a moment, all I have to do is scroll down the home page and see the 21-year-old flashing her gorgeous engagement ring in the perfectly-posed, natural-looking, randomly-casual pics on the rusted out railroad tracks downtown -- you know what I mean -- or, look at all those 20-30 somethings living in Dubai like royalty while teaching the arts or babysitting the rich and famous' off-spring.
But, that begs a bigger question:  why do I feel like my life is churning in place while everyone else is moving forward?
Ummm ... too many answers to that question, I'm sure. Instead, I think I'm just going to start enjoying what IS in my life and be a bit more fastidious about looking around and appreciating my current surroundings. I've always been taught -- or just osmossed-in and imagined I was taught -- the idea that knowledge changes everything.   But it's more than that. Knowledge is where we begin, but it changes us by how we use it. I realize this isn't deep, I don't claim to have anything deeper than the shallow end of the pool going on at any given moment. But, it's truth. And, believe it or not, truth is freeing. So, here we go: seekers of knowledge (no matter how small or insignificant), admirers of beauty (no matter how flawed the eye beholding it) and lovers of randomness -- it's ON!​
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P.S. I'm always impressed by the people on Facebook who purposely post "ugly" pics of themselves. Confident or oblivious souls, they are -- or maybe more grounded than the rest of us.​