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I was born back in the ‘60s, the youngest of four kids. The older ones were born all in a row, but there was a space of about four years between 3 and 4 (me). I was always rushing to catch up, but figured I’d be able. We lived in a big house in Maine, with an even bigger barn where I kept my sheep. My first sheep was what’s called a “bottle-lamb,” because he was runty (like Wilbur!) and had to be fed with a bottle. Kip often followed me (like Mary had a little-!) around in the field beside our house, boinging and sproinging.
Later, we moved from that house to an apartment over the 5- and dime, and that was fun, too, in different ways. I had a special box—black, with tiny hinges, and with indentations inside for each of many colored pens, and every evening I would choose a color and rate my day from 1 – 10, both color and number depending on a close examination: I had to do my homework, eat well, exercise, practice my flute, and do something nice for someone else. I don’t rate my days anymore. In some ways, I was smarter at 12 than I have been since.
When I grew up, I helped out in a needlework shop, waited tables, sold books and toys at StoryLand in Glen, NH, filed slides in an art library, worked at a museum, edited books, prepared test questions for a testing service, did fundraising consulting for nonprofit organizations, and taught at a university. And I wrote! At first I wasn’t very good, but with practice I improved, and I hope I will always continue to improve.
I write because it's fun. I'm happiest when I'm writing; it's when I feel most like myself. Writing is one way to examine and appreciate the world and a person's place in it. I still go through a lot of colored pens.
Later, we moved from that house to an apartment over the 5- and dime, and that was fun, too, in different ways. I had a special box—black, with tiny hinges, and with indentations inside for each of many colored pens, and every evening I would choose a color and rate my day from 1 – 10, both color and number depending on a close examination: I had to do my homework, eat well, exercise, practice my flute, and do something nice for someone else. I don’t rate my days anymore. In some ways, I was smarter at 12 than I have been since.
When I grew up, I helped out in a needlework shop, waited tables, sold books and toys at StoryLand in Glen, NH, filed slides in an art library, worked at a museum, edited books, prepared test questions for a testing service, did fundraising consulting for nonprofit organizations, and taught at a university. And I wrote! At first I wasn’t very good, but with practice I improved, and I hope I will always continue to improve.
I write because it's fun. I'm happiest when I'm writing; it's when I feel most like myself. Writing is one way to examine and appreciate the world and a person's place in it. I still go through a lot of colored pens.