One highlight for this first grade St. Robert Bellarmine Elementary School student was the Wednesday afternoon candy-drive. Once a week,Sister Marie Rose Christianson allowed disheveled kids in brown uniforms and crooked clip-on ties entry into our classroom to sell penny candy. On the sly my grandmother would pass me a few cents from the linty pocket of her apron giving me access to a little bit of Catholic School candy heaven.  In fact, 40+ years later I can still remember the aroma of the thick strings of warm red licorice.  Believe me, it smelled nothing like the institutional cafeteria wafting with the fetid odors of sweaty kids, bologna sandwiches, rotten fruit and warm milk. Thinking back I'm convinced hot cocoa and bagels ferried me through high school.  Academically, I was less than mediocre.  In fact I still wonder how I managed to graduate.  The whole event is a blur save olfactory memories of warm peanut butter cookies and cheap...(Read Full Post)