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Oregon by Penny Callan Partridge
The day of the new law in Oregon I had to call Jim in Michigan I had to call Pam in New Jersey Tom in New York and Mary Ann in Pennsylvania to be with them as this new thing flew up the flagpole and the colony we had been became the Independent Republic of the Adopted we were now full citizens we were now legitimate at least to the people of Oregon whether we lived in Oregon or not at least to the people of Oregon whether we were born in Oregon or not is how it seemed to me who lived in Massachusetts who was born in California and who'd been told the summer before by Susan Soon- Keum Cox that I could at least learn how to pronounce the name of her state not Ore-reh-gohn like origami but Orrigun like Milligan imagine not knowing imagine not knowing how to say the name of that state imagine not knowing imagine not knowing how to say the name of the woman you were born to it's little enough to learn it's little enough to learn
********************************************************* (This feature appeared in the Spring 2001 issue of the Bastard Quarterly.) Copyright 2001 Penny Callan
Partridge
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