Culture

The House That Ruth Built

“It was lasagna night, and as the kitchen got ready to serve dinner, kids checked Facebook at the cyber center, watched cartoon shows with headphones on, and fooled around at the pool table. The things that differentiated this gathering from a high school cafeteria were small: the thin kid wearing a parka inside who came up, bashful, for a full plate of food three times; the kids who wrapped up food in tin foil or took it away with them in to-go containers.”