When I translated Russia into purple socks ...
Olga Livshin graduated from high school in 1996. She was a great student in my AP English class, an editor for what was then called The Legend (now it's The Scribe ), and a charter member of the Francis Parker Writers' Club. Olga writes about the year we in the Writers' Club all wore purple socks. By the time the picture below was taken, we had apparently moved on to funny hats. It was wonderful to read Olga's memories about those times. We had a cool thing going back then. The students in the club were from every corner of campus. They were intellectuals, wallflowers, oddballs, poets, artists, study nerds, and just about everything in between. They came to the club from all different directions, through all different windows and portholes and trapdoors, some kids thinking of themselves as writers, others simply interested in ideas, and still others just confused and vaguely intellectual. What they shared in common, or what they came to share in common, was a desi