My heart hurts.

Recently my husband and I were on our motorcycle vacation enjoying the country side.  We do this each summer and have most often stayed in rural areas because it is an escape.

We drove to St Louis from eastern Iowa to visit with my aunt and cousins.   As we live in a technical world we use a GPS to navigate and my husband never deviates.  Occasionally it irritates me.  Just
Saying.

On this trip we were directed through the city of St. Louis.   We crossed the river in Alton and went through the residential area of North St.  Louis.   I have seen similar housing in Detroit but as I felt then, my heart just ached for those living in this so called housing.  Shame on us for letting society call this housing, shame on me for not knowing that people are living in falling down apartment buildings not fit for anyone. 

Shame on anyone for saying just get a job and you could be better off.  There was no industry in the area and very little retail.  How can we sit by the side and say we have a better place when people are living in this poverty?

I was told that St. Louis is known as the most racially divided city in America and I believe it after my recent visit.   There was an instant line and noticeable difference the minute we crossed it.

I don't know the answer to the issue but I do know that there is not always equity in our society.   I do hope that if you are an employer you do not look at race but qualified candidates.   I hope that if you are in education you do everything you can to encourage children to seek a vocation that brings them financial success. I hope that we all do just a little something to change the horrible tensions in our country and bring peace.

I hope that you and I care about all in society and that we all have a goal of helping people become self sufficient members of society. I hope that all can someday be able to work equally, in fair conditions with fair wages.  And, as I type this it makes me sad because this is what the fight during the 60's was about.  Shame on us for thinking the fight is over.  No it is not, it is an allusion and escape for those of us living in privileged society.

With love, hope and peace from your retired FACS teacher,  Jane

Thank you to Curtis Duffy, Ruth Snider, and Michael Muser.....Because of your generous, kind acts combined with hard work, dedication and artistic ability FACS has been noticed.

I independently chose to become an advocate for Family and Consumer Sciences because I loved my profession.  But, I must say that my love for the profession grew from the dedication and kindness that I received from my then "Home Ec" teachers in Junior High School and High School.

One, Ruth Gregerson-Burg noticed my gift for sewing and let me sore beyond my classmates in Junior High.  She, Jan Walsh and Roxanne Ebnet helped me hone my leadership skills, and continued to let me grow with textiles skills through out high school.  I thank them for that and appreciate what they did for me personally and for my education.

This blog is not about me it is about the life a wonderfully successful man, Curtis Duffy, who chose to acknowledge Ruth Snider for her kindness and positive involvement in his life.

On the Family and Consumer Sciences Facebook page, one of the 4000 members remarked about the documentary on Curtis Duffy and Michael Muser.  I immediately watched it (with tears) and felt an instant, "well finally" feeling in my heart!

Many times we hear successful people talk about their teachers and how they helped them but it is often in the general sense and very rarely do we hear about FACS professionals.  Curtis states very clearly, in his story both in the newspaper, and in the film that Ruth did not teach him his skills but introduced to him an art and a skill that he felt good about, gave him purpose, that he wanted to pursue as a career.  He could have very easily talked about Ruth as his teacher and not included the "Home Ec" title but he chose to give her that label with dignity and pride.

For those reasons I thank the group of you in this film.  Your food, service, ambiance, staff all appears to be fantastic (well dah....3 Michelin stars) but really thank you again for sharing your roots.  As educators dealing with life long lessons we often get over looked,  poopooed, and told "anyone can do that".  As FACS professionals we often sit by the side knowing that we are most often strong, family oriented, people that work more hours than the average due to our diverse content area!  For those reasons I can not thank you enough for your acknowledgement of that fantastic woman, in that small town, in Ohio that gave you a breath of life through food.  Because really, there are many more like her!

Your love for each other, the food that you prepare, and work that you do, shines very brightly in this documentary!

With love from your retired FACS teacher,

Jane

A note of thanks to the documentary folks, Kevin Pang and Mark Helenowski for bringing this film to the public.

For FACS professionals looking for this film, you can find it on Netflix and Amazon.