Last class of the semester and I arrive early to put something on the board before joining a couple of the more charming sort of student as their guest at Zuni, nearby, one of San Francisco's lovely restaurants.
The ladies want to show me an outline they''ve prepared, which turns out to be very nice, especially if you enjoy reading other folk's outlines. The ones you do for yourself seem to be the most digestible for some reason. The dinner and company were lovely, the invitation most welcome, and to be encouraged, definitely.
I'd written on the whiteboard an outine on Roe v. Wade and progeny captioned:
"A Woman's Constitutional Right To Choose."
So we begin and a student comes forward to address the class, presenting the case, when I chime in, referring to the material on the board.
During my dinner absence, a student has changed a word in my caption so it now reads:
"A Woman's Constitutional Right To Cook."
I glance toward it and go right on by, oblivious, lecturing, making due reference to the Women's Rights, Women's Lib movement over the years, doing a bit of cooking of my own, when I hear something from the class, a laugh or something having to do with the word switch, which I check out, when all of a sudden I get it and have a laugh, joined by the others.
No Women's Lib for Mr. Word-switcher, it is clear.
After class, joined five of the males, who also treated (further to be encouraged), for a drink at Martuni's at Market and Valencia, six blocks or so from the world famous Castro District.
Place turns out to be surprisingly crowded, straight and gay, for a Thursday evening, complete with a trumpet playing piano player (this is San Francisco) and singing patrons. One of our group, after a drink or two, cops to the word switch, which the class was in on except for one or two who did not wish to be amused.
I guess this more-or-less fundamental right to cook is one of those unenumerated Liberty interests protected by the Ninth Amendment, not to mention the penumbras and emanations of any number of other textual guarantees, such as those protections given to people living in "homes" in the 3rd and 4th Amendments.
The Framers must've run out of parchment before they could reach this 'right,' which is not otherwise to be disparaged...
A very nice way to wind up a semester and my sincere thanks to all for making it a good one. Here's to the next.