I was born in an orange crate house next to a pot-belly stove in the cold spring of 1930, where "out" was the only option.

My pop was a genius in tile and terrazzo work and anything else he put his hand to. Mom was a self-taught linguist. Dad's earliest book was a tri-lingual, illustrated dictionary.

After receiving my BA (English) from Wayne State University and, later, after a stint in the US Army, I went back to school for my MA from U. of Chicago. Initially, I worked as copy-reader with C...
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