Thursday: Done. Four down, one to go. I was kind of surprised that my regular partner was back from his vacation. I wasn't sure if he had one more week or not. We had a chance to catch up on all of the recent good news (Zarqawi's demise, the Rove non-indictment, etc.). We disagreed on the news story from Texas about the 25-year-old female teacher who faces up to 20 years in prison for having sex with an 18-year-old male student. I felt that while it was unethical, and probably a fireable offense, it should not be a crime because both participants were consenting adults. He thought that she had abused her situation of authority and should serve jail time, although much less than 20 years.
He also told me an interesting story about his trip through the coastal area of the Carolinas, where he saw a bunch of stands along the side of the road (Highway 17 north of Charleston) where elderly black women were weaving baskets from the local grasses. My helpful search engine pointed me to articles about Gullah sweetgrass basket weaving, which told me that the baskets are among the oldest forms of African-American art, and the tradition has been passed down through generations. Whole families often take part, with the men and boys obtaining the sweetgrass from the coastal areas, while the women and girls weave the baskets. The Gullah people of South Carolina (and some areas of Georgia) are direct descendents of African slaves brought to the area to grow rice, and still speak their own language which combines English and African words. The basketmaking is threatened by urban development, which makes it much more difficult to obtain the sweetgrass necessary to make the baskets.
You learn something new every day.
