It's not often that one's labor of love is also his profession. I am in that position now (finally!) as a college professor and soon-to-be-published novelist (more on that in my next post). But I've always had great expectations about what path my life would take, what I would do for a living. When I was a little boy, I dreamed of growing up and riding a black stallion here and there, righting wrongs. The saddle and all the tack would be black, I would be dressed in black, my hat and holster would be black, My Colt .45 however, would have a pearl handle. As I got older, I realized that perhaps my fear of horses might impact my career. In addition, I wasn't sure how I would be paid, other than by sweet kisses from rescued damsels.
Then I decided I'd grow up and play left field for the Boston Red Sox. But when I was fifteen and playing for the Pony League Athletics, my batting average plummeted once I was introduced to the curve ball. Maybe my (uncorrected) 20-120 vision had something to do with that. In any case, I moved on. Then I thought maybe I would be a basketball star. That didn't work out, either.
In real life I have worked on an oven in an auto parts factory, shoveled out chicken houses and harvested grapefruit on an Israeli kibbutz, stocked shelves in a Southern California liquor store, served four years in the Air Force (ours) here and abroad, and worked with troubled adolescents and their families. I had a morning paper route, I detasseled corn in Iowa, worked as a bar back in an officers' club in Germany, and wrote newspaper columns.
But now, praise God, I am a full-time college professor and loving it. I enjoy working with colleagues I love, and students who are usually entertaining in a variety of ways. I have plenty of time to write, and I use it to do something I enjoy more than anything else - putting stories on paper.
In my next posting, I will share with you a little bit about my novel, Signs of Struggle. For now, I just want to thank you for reading curlylarryandme and hope you tell others if you like what you find here.
