In Our Small Southern Towns, Mama Was a Radical — Deeply Embedded

KC Compton
Aug 29, 2017 · 8 min read

My mother had a well-oiled mechanism that delivered most of her thoughts directly from her mind to her mouth, without so much as a hairpin turn to slow them down. Kinder folk would say she was “outspoken.” As a much-aggrieved adolescent, I had a less generous interpretation.

“KATHRYN,” she said as we stood in the bra aisle of the big department store in Oklahoma City, “YOU HAVE TO GET ONE WITH PADDING. YOU HAVE NOTHING UP THERE AND YOU’LL LEAVE GROOVES IN YOUR SHOULDERS TRYING TO SQUEEZE YOUR WAY TO A BOSOM.” In my…

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KC Compton

Written by

Writer, editor, newshound, fan of participatory democracy. Decades as newspaper & magazine journalist. Live in sunny Seattle. Superpowers are kindness and joy.

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