Hopping Down the Bunny Trail

29 December 2014

Regardless of what I taught, Dwight was supportive.

Long before I became a “real” teacher, I taught primary in my mother’s ward. At the time, Dwight and I lived in a one-bedroom condo in American Towers in downtown Salt Lake City.
Each week, five four-year-olds toddled into sit on metal chairs in a small classroom with me.

Since a child’s attention span is about the same as his or her age, they lasted about five minutes before we needed to transition.

As I dressed for Easter Sunday, Dwight offered to make me a coloring page for the children. He placed a crown of thorns around the Playboy bunny’s ear, printed five copies, and handed them to me.

Raised Episcopalian in the Jewish section of Detroit, Dwight practiced tolerance rather than any one religion. Just like Charlie Skinner in Newsroom, Dwight’s religion is decency.

Dwight’s least favorite holiday was Easter. Being raised with first generation Jews, he learned that Hitler often ran his pogroms on Easter. In 1995, our first Easter, I built baskets and dyed eggs. That is when Dwight told me about the pogroms. After that, we did not celebrate.

But, the corners of my mouth turn up and I giggle when I think about his bunny coloring page that never made it to the Mormon church.