11 Formative Years

This will be a short tour of some of my early life that helped prepare me for dealing with ALS. I was born in Chicago in 1943. My birth was premature, and my doctor told my parents not to expect me to live. Well, I made it, and our family of four moved to Las Vegas, Nevada when I was four years old.

 

During my early school years, I had great difficulty reading. I often hoped and prayed that my teachers would not call on me for oral reading. I even repeated first grade. But mother made sure that I did not give up and read my favorite stories to me every night. She often took me to the public library and introduced me to our local bookstore. Thanks to my mother, I eventually became a lifelong learner.

 

One day, when I asked my Algebra teacher a question, she said, “You are so dumb in math that you should never take another math class,” in front of the class. This experience was especially hurtful because I was trying so hard.

 

Three years later, my high school counselor told me that because my math and foreign language grades were low, I was not college material. Undeterred, I insisted on borrowing his college catalogs and learned that maybe I couldn’t become an engineer (I never wanted to be one); however, there were many interesting university majors that require only one or two math classes and no foreign language classes. My counselor couldn’t stop me from trying, and I went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree in ornamental horticulture and master’s degrees in both city planning and public administration with top grades in all three. Some of us are just late bloomers.

 

My father was very innovative in his business practices and exposed me to creative ideas and different ways of looking at things. He would have liked me to join him in his business, although he never tried to deter me from following my interests that led to different career paths. Both my parents always supported my dreams, whether they agreed with them or even understood them.

 

Mom often spoke of moderation - do what you want to do but just don’t overdo it. She expected everyone to work hard, but to also make time for fun. My parents taught me about resilience and persistence through leading by example. They showed me how to carry on and do my best no matter what.

 

When growing up, I regularly attended Sunday school, vacation bible school and later, church with my parents. I learned about gratefulness, kindness and spirituality. What had the greatest effect on me was the golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. This has remained a very strong guide throughout my life.

 

I learned from my parents that our middle-class family was very fortunate compared to those families with daily struggles, that we had a responsibility to contribute toward the greater good and that we should never feel entitled.

 

Early on, I developed a strong interest in plants, animals and nature and the interconnectedness of all living beings. I had a sense of wonder and curiosity about all these interesting things, both where I lived and in the whole wide world. I loved being outdoors but also studying books about nature. This helped motivate me to overcome my early reading difficulty and became the foundation for my lifelong desire to continue learning.