Wearing my swingy faux-pearl mala beads with equally swingy leather tassel made a few years ago by talented Mary Marino. And a black, bell-sleeve Julie Brown dress I bought at STITCH a few years back, plus patterned Wolford tights I snagged on sale. I feel feminine--and trendy.
Home-based today.
I went to Punchy's IEP* meeting at 8:45....the first meeting for middle school. Key. I liked talking to the team, the people who see our Punch in school, when she is away from home and out in the world. They already know about her love for pets. Of course they do. [Every other Friday, therapy dogs come in....the teacher, who was very nice, said she loves it. Yup. So grateful they have that. And so grateful for the education and support Punch has been getting in the public school system. I hope it is enough, that she is getting what she needs. We try hard at home, and so does her Mimi.]
Then I went to Jefferson's Cafe, 88 Maple Avenue, iconic I think, on the south end of town, close to the school....I didn't know it existed until this year, and I've lived in Montclair since 1991. I also walked by on Back-to-School Night, in the rain.
The menu offers waffles with white chicken and waffles with dark chicken, plus grits and biscuits, fried catfish etc. I had a biscuit with turkey sausage and cheese....the oven treasure was warm and tender....very, very good. The perfect handheld vessel for melty Cheddar and a slim sausage patty. Some biscuits can be hard, thick, dry or rubbery. This one tasted like it was made from an old family recipe. It was on the wide side, and not too lofty. I got some cheese grits to go, also excellent.
I was the only white person I saw there. A woman in blue nursing scrubs/uniform got something to go; a man and woman arrived as I left, after parking their new SUV; two older gentlemen held the door for me on the way in; two women sat together; one young woman sat alone, in a winter hat with big pompom and sweat pants with a glittery word on the seat.
Oh, so that's how it feels, I thought, when a black person walks into a white restaurant. But am I wrong?
I am a white person and as such, in this town and at this time, feel entitled to go pretty much anywhere I choose. Is that how it feels for a black person entering a lily-white restaurant?
I think of the days of Rosa Parks. For starters, the black person would not have been served. And look--two black men welcomed me, holding the door open so I could enter. Back in the day, would a black person only be in a white restaurant if cooking, serving or washing dishes, or was that off-limits, too? Indignity. Shame on our forebears. This morning, I took zero risk to take a comfortable seat at Jefferson's Cafe. I felt I deserved to be there, in fact. I am a foodie and simply followed my nose.
I am going back, want to bring Punch and Nikki some time.
TCOY
*Per Google: The IEP, Individualized Education Program, is a written document that's developed for each public school child who is eligible for special education. The IEP is created through a team effort and reviewed at least once a year. Before an IEP can be written, your child must be eligible for special education.
Home-based today.
I went to Punchy's IEP* meeting at 8:45....the first meeting for middle school. Key. I liked talking to the team, the people who see our Punch in school, when she is away from home and out in the world. They already know about her love for pets. Of course they do. [Every other Friday, therapy dogs come in....the teacher, who was very nice, said she loves it. Yup. So grateful they have that. And so grateful for the education and support Punch has been getting in the public school system. I hope it is enough, that she is getting what she needs. We try hard at home, and so does her Mimi.]
Then I went to Jefferson's Cafe, 88 Maple Avenue, iconic I think, on the south end of town, close to the school....I didn't know it existed until this year, and I've lived in Montclair since 1991. I also walked by on Back-to-School Night, in the rain.
The menu offers waffles with white chicken and waffles with dark chicken, plus grits and biscuits, fried catfish etc. I had a biscuit with turkey sausage and cheese....the oven treasure was warm and tender....very, very good. The perfect handheld vessel for melty Cheddar and a slim sausage patty. Some biscuits can be hard, thick, dry or rubbery. This one tasted like it was made from an old family recipe. It was on the wide side, and not too lofty. I got some cheese grits to go, also excellent.
I was the only white person I saw there. A woman in blue nursing scrubs/uniform got something to go; a man and woman arrived as I left, after parking their new SUV; two older gentlemen held the door for me on the way in; two women sat together; one young woman sat alone, in a winter hat with big pompom and sweat pants with a glittery word on the seat.
Oh, so that's how it feels, I thought, when a black person walks into a white restaurant. But am I wrong?
I am a white person and as such, in this town and at this time, feel entitled to go pretty much anywhere I choose. Is that how it feels for a black person entering a lily-white restaurant?
I think of the days of Rosa Parks. For starters, the black person would not have been served. And look--two black men welcomed me, holding the door open so I could enter. Back in the day, would a black person only be in a white restaurant if cooking, serving or washing dishes, or was that off-limits, too? Indignity. Shame on our forebears. This morning, I took zero risk to take a comfortable seat at Jefferson's Cafe. I felt I deserved to be there, in fact. I am a foodie and simply followed my nose.
I am going back, want to bring Punch and Nikki some time.
TCOY
- Paid $600 of our $810 heating oil bill--enough to get a delivery, because the tank gauge is hovering on empty, and schedule our annual oil burner tuneup. I'm owed money for writing, but it can take a while. Thank you, Judy at oil company.
- Short walk with Sug.
- Private Benjamin appt. Helpful. Good insights.
- Finally picked up my pink bike from Punchy's friend's house. She biked over there a couple of weeks ago and then it was too dark to bike back. I rolled it into back seat of our blue Toyota. Happy to have it back.
$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET
- Jefferson's Cafe, down-home breakfast [see above], about $8.25 plus tip, $10.
- Kings, 2 rolls Viva, Newman's Own dog treats to support hips and joints, and Mast Brothers dark chocolate bar on sale for $2.99, $14.
- Marcel Bakery & Kitchen, saw Rach for first time in weeks. This should also be under TCOY both for friendship and nourishing food. Daily roasted veggies over hummus, delicious, with tip, $15.
TOTAL DAILY SPEND: $39.
ONGOING MONTHLY SPEND AS OF NOV. 5: $275.33.
AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $55.06.
AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $55.06.
COMPARE TO 3 PRIOR MONTHS:
TOTAL SPEND FOR OCTOBER (31 DAYS): $2,495.36.🍎 ⬆️
AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $80.49.🍎 ⬆️
_____________________________________________________________________
TOTAL SPEND FOR SEPTEMBER (30 DAYS): $2,214.43.🍎⬇️
AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $73.81.🍎⬇️
_______________________________________________________________________________
TOTAL SPEND FOR AUGUST (31 DAYS): $2,895.06. ⬆️
AUGUST AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $93.39. ⬆️
Posts
I wore a dress yesterday too! Met a colleague from out of town for a drink, then rushed home for a wake. Nice wake-it was an elederlygentleman, patriarch of a huge family who gathered to talk about how he was loved, and tell stories.
ReplyDeleteGlad you ventured into the new restaurant. The last three awful years have brought racism very much to my thoughts. Here in my beloved MD we have a white Repub gov who is popular despite doing almost nothing for Baltimore. In 2019 it is still safe to ignore inconvenient African Americans or tell them racism is over.
Liz
I’m so happy to be able to comment again! After I posted about Jefferson’s Cafe,
DeleteI went back and reread a couple times for fear that I was somehow being racist....
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ReplyDeleteSo much to say on this post. Not enough time to say it thoughtfully. Being one of the few white people in a larely AA neighborhood for many years, I know exactly what you mean. And the dawning! Such a place of privilege I walk in! One of the silver linings of our long national nightmare of late has been the "awakening" of many white progressives. Like me. And now I really want a biscuit...
ReplyDeleteKim, I didn’t know your neighborhood was largely African American. Has it been that way since you moved in? My block is mostly white. I can think of one black man (with a white husband), another black man (with a white girlfriend), one Puerto Rican family, one Muslim (?) family and one single black woman who grew up in Montclair and raised her grown daughter here. Actually this is 5 families—probably more than we have ever had since moving here in 1994. Love Alice
DeleteSo much to say about your day in the life …
ReplyDelete1.) Your outfit sounds fabulous.
2.) Punch's school sounds wonderful. Therapy dogs! What a great innovation. (I feel sure that would not be allowed in our school for fear of upsetting kids who are afraid of dogs or people who were mad that their kids didn't get to spend time with the dogs. Ahhh … suburban life!)
3.) I think your observations about Jefferson's are right on. It sounds so delicious that it's surprising it hasn't been co-opted by white foodies. Maybe they like it that way? I would love to go and would love to eat that biscuit sandwich.
Hi MTM. How are you? 1. Thank you. 2. It is a good school. Parents/caregivers had to sign a permission slip if they
Deletewanted their children to participate in therapy dog program. Yes, all the maneuvering of (often entitied) suburban parents. 3. We have mandatory busing and magnet schools in town so that predominantly white neighborhoods won’t have all white students and predominantly black ones won’t have all black students. So Lex’s school is in a predominantly black area and has kick-ass art, theater, music, dance. Of the 3 middle schools, it’s very popular. But I won’t lie, until Annie wen there (art), I had rarely been in the area. Hence didn’t know about Jefferson’s.! Sending love. Alice
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