Screened Out

Throughout my childhood, especially as I got older, I desperately wanted to go to summer school. School was fun for me, and a long hot summer with no money and no access to summer jobs was a dull waste of time. I wanted to be active, to learn, maybe to have some fun. I longed to join other favored children whose parents would pay the summer tuition, for art classes, for outdoor events, even for academic subjects. But Nooo, every time I asked, no, not once, not never. My father’s standard answer was “Ask your mother.” My mother bragged to me that she had taken music lessons, and did not like it, she had gone to summer camp, and did not like it, she had had summer jobs, but she was unwilling to let me find any for myself. I was screened out by my own parents. I did not learn about libraries until junior high school. How did that happen? Really, how did that happen?

Caption: Screened Out

by Annmarie Throckmorton 2018