This story is required reading for Monday, April 13, when Deb Sprong will be with us to discuss literary journalism. This is just an excerpt--the full story is posted on the portal. Please download it and read it--several times--before that night. We likely will also have a discussion guide to accompany it.
Rosa Lee’s Story: The Series
By Leon Dash
The Washington Post
Sept. 18-25, 1994
To read entire series, go to
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/library/rosalee/epilogue.htm
Part Two
Stealing Became a Way of Life
Rosa Lee Cunningham guided her 10-year-old grandson through the narrow aisles of the Oxon Hill thrift shop, past the crowded racks of secondhand pants and shirts, stopping finally at the row of children's jackets and winter coats.
The boy picked out a mock flight jacket, with a big number on the back and a price tag stapled to the collar.
"If you want it," Rosa Lee said, "then you're going to have to help me get it."
"Okay, grandmama," the boy said nervously. "But do it in a way that I won't get caught."
Like a skilled teacher instructing a new student, the 54-year-old Rosa Lee told the boy what to do. "Pretend you're trying it on. Don't look up! Don't look around! Don't laugh like it's some kind of joke! Just put it on. Let Grandma see how you look."
The boy slipped off his old coat and put on the new one. It was too big. Rosa Lee whispered, "Now put the other one back on, over it." She pushed down the new jacket's collar so that it was hidden.
"What do I do now?" the boy asked.
"Just walk on out the door," Rosa Lee said. "It's your coat."
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