#moment that encapsulates the best of solidarity and empathy. not of erasing the shame but of making other emotions higher priority

[ravencromwell]

When I get in the lunch line, I know what’s going to happen. Rather than get mad or ashamed, I just try to own it. It’s not easy, but it is what it is.

When I get to the cashier, I don’t hurry her, or yell at her, or get annoyed or frustrated. I just say, “I’m in the Free Lunch Program. My name’s Rex Ogle.”

The old woman licks her fingers and thumbs through the pages in the red folder. For the first time, I see her nametag. I wonder if she’s always worn it. She probably has, and I feel a little bad about that. All those times I wanted her to memorize my name and I never bothered to learn hers. Her name is Peggy..

I ask, “How were your holidays, Peggy?”

She smiles. “Oh, they were lovely. Thanks for asking.”

Peggy pencils in a little checkmark in the red folder, and says, “Did you have a good New Year?”

I nod. I did. And I’m ready for my fresh start.

--ending vignette of Rex Ogle’s Free Lunch

#Rex Ogle #book babbling #poverty #I promise I really will shut up about this book soon. but fuck! fuck this ending guts me over and over. the entire conceit of the book is #these 2-3 page vignetts. all circling back. in one way or another. to food insecurity and the shame of poverty. and for a book that's been #so rightly focused on this kid's all-consuming shame for something that's neither his fault nor in his control--that's dealt so frankly #with abuse. and the pure bitterness poverty causes--some of the most viscerally powerful bits are Rex coming to terms with how his anger #reflects and arises from many of the conditions that fuel his mother's and making a deliberate choice to behave differently--to end on this #moment that encapsulates the best of solidarity and empathy. not of erasing the shame but of making other emotions higher priority? just. #fuck. such a powerful. underappreciated little gem #lit geekery