Reading on Mud Level

Fulfilling my nearly quotidian trip to the CVRT, I drove past the school for Plain Children on Mud Level Road. Seven children, sitting on a two-by-four railing that marked the boundary between the parking lot and the playground, had their heads dutifully bent reading books while sitting in the sun. Each child was dressed in overalls and/or the floral patterns of homemade clothes that I associate with Mennonite women. Small uniformed gaps divided each child from his/her companion. Driving past at 35-miles-per-hour, I caught only a fleeting glance. But there were no distractions; just the pleasure of reading in the sun on a spring day.