ONE OF FOUR

The Great Depression was a powerful force that significantly altered the lives of everyone it touched. The effects were always pronounced and life-long. Destinies often were shifted. Through a collection of vignettes this autobiographical story of the first twenty-one years of a young boy's experiences, and those of his brothers, is told in the setting of those Depression years. The loss of their mother in a tragic death had a deeply emotional impact on the four sons. Out of the uncertainty and disorientation of a motherless home, these four boys, ages four months to eight years, eventually found them-selves under the care of an aunt who later became their stepmother in a home that had only a weekend father. The human chemistry in this family was fraught with conflict, confrontation, hope, lies, isolation, rejection, kindness, sex, deception, joy, avoidance, fun, withdrawal, greed, and pathos. It was in this setting that the four boys were able to find strength within and among them to cope and endure. This is a tragic story, a compassionate story, and, yes, a humorous story of four boys learning to "make lemonade out of lemons" in an environment where "providing for" was offered as a substitute for parental love.

As a youth I learned to appreciate poetry. I had a teacher in high school that was enamored with poetry, and he had a winning way of passing his enthusiasm for verse on to me. While I was in the military, I had an excellent opportunity to describe in letters the beauty and wonder of Japan. During that period, I wrote scores of lengthy letters which attempted to reflect upon the beauty and mystique of Japan. I have always enjoyed both the opportunity and challenge of sharing my perceptions with others through the written word. After I completed my military obligation, my writing underwent a series of transitions from poetry, to grants, and then to professional journal articles. Over the years of my varied career I have written numerous published journal articles and collaborated in 1984 on a book, A Handbook of Educational Variables. One of Four represents my first effort of published auto-biographical writing. A second book, depicting the period of time I spent in Japan, is currently in draft form; and I am looking forward to concentrating my efforts on it.