My brilliant mother forced me to become a teacher, and for a while I was furious with her. Before long, however, I became eternally grateful to her for being iron-willed and knowing what was best for her children. Without her determination, I might have never discovered a profession that I absolutely loved from the first… Continue reading As Chinua Achebe Said, “Things Fall Apart”
Location, Location, Location
In May of 1963, I took the test to get my drivers’ license. I missed one question on the written test, the one about hand signals. Who needs ‘em anyway? Every car has turn signals, right? Back at the barracks for the state police when I finished the driving part of the test, the trooper… Continue reading Location, Location, Location
Wine in Line and a Billion Bones
Whether you ever go to Paris or not (and I hope you do go), you should read The Parisians by Graham Robb. The book relates the stories of Parisians, some famous, some not so famous, who have contributed to the history of this great city. One vignette is about Héricart de Thury, the man who… Continue reading Wine in Line and a Billion Bones
The Worms Turn
Although we lived right on the Ohio River, in Wellsburg, West Virginia, our dad was not a fisherman. He wasn’t a hunter either, but that’s another story. Somehow my brother Mark became a fisherman, of sorts. Maybe he had some friends who fished. Probably they just liked hanging out on the forbidden riverbank, I know… Continue reading The Worms Turn
Stop and Smell the Fish
I make my dinner menu for the week and the shopping list to go with it on Monday. I shop on Tuesday. My friends make fun of me. (“How do you know on Monday what you’ll want to eat on Friday?” they ask. “Easy,” I say. “I’ll want to eat whatever’s on the menu for… Continue reading Stop and Smell the Fish
Anything but a Teacher!
I never wanted to be a teacher. My mother made me become one. I didn’t know what I wanted to become, anything but a teacher, I guess. I would think about what I wanted to become, but I’d get sidetracked by what I wanted. I wanted two things: my own apartment (probably because I had… Continue reading Anything but a Teacher!
