When I was about 8 years old, the scariest person I knew was a nun who taught fourth grade at my school: Sister Margaret Joseph. In my dreams Sister Margaret Joseph, or Maggie Joe as we called her, had a recurring, starring role. At St. Francis of Assisi, my Pepto Bismol pink elementary school, Maggie Joe was one of about a dozen nuns who strode the halls, shepherded us to daily Mass, outlined the fundamentals of heaven and hell, and scowled at most of our behavior. The nuns were a stern and joyless lot. And the nuns never praised or hugged me as the lay teachers—and pretty much all the rest of the grown-ups in my life—did from time to time.

Source: Daily Sun November 19, 2020 12:00 UTC