good idea: yellow chalk

It was this past Monday that I quietly tip-toed around the campus of a rather rural Catholic college, in search of the classroom that would become a cozy learning vestibule for young eager minds this fall semester, when I stumbled upon a dimly lit room, instantly noticing that two of the four walls were draped with blackboards (ironically, green in color). Almost instantly, I rocketed back in time to the second grade: my first memorable encounter with chalkboards--that soft green surface covered with the dust of chalk. The silver tray holding stray pieces of white and colored chalk and two standard erasers--you know, the kind you begged to be allowed to clap during recess for extra credit or bonus points. Ah yes, chalk: I would have to secure some in order to utilize this fine commodity of the past. And not just any chalk, no, I want--need--yellow chalk; the same chalk my elementary and middle school teachers nonchalantly carried around. The yellow chalk that dusted the blackboard, and the backs of female teachers' dresses and male teachers' trousers; that yellow chalk with the perfect contrasting hue on its green backdrop. That yellow chalk that, though it doesn't erase as well as white chalk, commands attention from all learners in the classroom. The coveted yellow chalk that educates students. Nostalgia? You bet. And yes, I know that the chalkboard chalk business is no longer as lucrative as the whiteboard and dry erase marker industries, but still, I prefer to be launched back into the peaceful world (so I assume) of the 1950s--you know, where families ate dinner together, and soda jerks handed you that classic 1957 manufactured Coca-Cola bottle--any day than continue this spiral into a land of pushing buttons, text messaging, and voice commanding gadgets. In fact, I relish it, embrace it, and realize that I must locate a chalk holder.