|
I was born to Leo and Betty, my salt-of-the-earth heroes,
the same year that Rosa Parks stayed seated on that fateful
bus trip; when Elvis recorded his first song, “That’s
Alright Mama”; and “The Wild One” made Marlon
Brando’s character a countercultural hero. On my journey
through the birth canal to the present moment, I have not
recovered: I remain a child of the Sixties. Largely to blame
are my older sister and brother. Their music, political and
religious worldviews, and causes became mine. Patti, as patient
a person as Mom, is now a principal at a school for the emotionally
challenged. As committed to work as Dad, Gary is a neuroscientist.
My younger brother and sister, Dave and Shawn, are Zen Buddhists,
though they might not admit to it.
While “my education hasn’t hurt me none,”
I was mostly uninspired until I attended Eckerd College. While
living and studying in Europe I gradually realized that I
wanted to—or, better yet, needed to—teach. That
realization was affirmed at UWF and FSU, where a number of
professors/mentors/friends helped me see that degrees may
be terminal, but education is not.
|
