Indian Princess? Sure!

We went to a party yesterday to celebrate the end of the semester at my department chair's house. Our department is kind of famous for its potlucks--the year I was hired, they conducted searches for three positions and brought a total of nine candidates to campus. They held a potluck dinner for each of the candidates. It must have been grueling; the following year we conducted one search, and just the three potlucks felt like a lot . . . it felt like we were in the CIA or something, bringing in a new person each time and enacting our rehearsed roles in a scenario designed to ensnare. Everybody brought the same dish or kind of dish, we discussed the same topics and shared the same stories, etc. I can't imagine doing it nine times. We joke that when someone retires, we should put in the job posting what dish we are looking for (e.g., "We have an opening for a salad but would also consider a casserole if vegetable-based").

Anyway, besides the dishes, people brought spouses and children, and one little six-year-old girl named Sophie, who has been really sweet to AC in the past, took her under her wing. Sophie had brought a book of Disney fairy tales, and she read them to Allison Clare. "Sit steps," AC suggested. And so they did, with AC's little hand on the small of Sophie's back while they cuddled together and Sophie read aloud. Sophie would stop periodically and explain things to AC: "Do you know what gold is? It's really really big and shiny." Those of us who were eavesdropping also got a kick out of when Sophie suggested that they read Pocahontas "because you kind of look like her."