He grew up in a culture
that valued working with

one’s hands, an immigrant
culture, a farming culture.

He loved to read and he
loved going to the movies

and, in time, while at
college, he learned to

love theater and dance.
He pursued a major in

theater, the dream being
to teach on the college

level. He excelled at the
technical side — light-

ing, sets. He had rough,
laborer hands — thick,

calloused fingers but
as a professor at a small,

liberal arts college, he
had to do it all and you

could see, by his enthus-
iasm, how much he en-

joyed directing — stand
here, mark that spot on

the stage. One day while
instructing a class on

how to build flats, he
absently mentioned that

his old, farmer father
once told him, “Those

who can’t do, teach.”
With that, he chuckled

faintly and then hammer-
ed the daylights out of

that poor, innocent piece
of stage scenery.