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Life certainly has a way of sneaking up on you when you’re looking the other way. Ever notice? I’ve made some good decisions, but I’m the first to admit, I’ve also made some humdingers! I can only laugh at my thought process in some of these.

For example, there I was having the time of my life in college, cruising the North Shore of Boston in my ’68 GTO, thinking about what major to declare. It was the end of my sophomore year at Gordon College (Wenham, MA), and I had a week to make my decision. It wasn’t as obvious as one might think. I took the list of classes being offered for Spring term and checked all the classes that sounded remotely interesting to me. Hah! That week, I declared my English Literature major! But … to teach? Heck no!

"Old Hag" English Teacher


All I pictured when I thought of English teachers was the old hag with a tightly twisted bun somewhere near the top of her head. Ugh! That was the last thing I wanted to be. I declared myself … a WRITER! Wish I could say I lived happily ever after on that note, but …

After many twists and turns, I did take a turn as an English teacher. It was intimidating at first, but I quickly fell in love with the kids and vowed never to make them read something without some present-day truth to it to apply to their own lives. For 10 years I taught British lit, American lit, grammar, composition, the novel, drama, and strangely, sign language in a small, private school. A terrific gig, for sure!

Then life moved on … and I followed!

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