Checkout Conversation

A few weeks ago I went to a posh pet store to pick up an indestructible toy for Callie and Ness (which they destroyed within 48 hours, but that's beside the point), and was making friendly small talk with the owner at the checkout. I mentioned that we lived on the campus of a school where my husband was a teacher.

"What does he teach?" she asked. "Latin and History," I said. She chuckled and said, "Wow! Latin teacher. That's a rare breed, isn't it? I mean, you don't see many of those around." My hackles started to prick up gradually and I countered, rather defensively, "Well, actually, there's a fairly vibrant Classics community around Philadelphia, both in the private and public schools, so it's a stronger subject than you might think." "Huh," she continued. "It seems like Latin would be one of the non-essential subjects they'd be looking to eliminate in schools." Looking skeptical, she raised an eyebrow and concluded, "I mean, in this economy, he's lucky to have a job."

At this point, I had almost finished paying, and decided just to let the conversation peter out there. The owner, however, redirected the conversation (or so she thought) by asking, "What do you do?"

"I'm a graduate student," I said.

"Oh, interesting. In what field?"

"Classics, actually."

"And what do you want to do with that?"

"Be a Latin teacher," I said with a smile.