But since DYSLEXIA wasn't known by most teachers in the 1950's, my "reading-aloud" was marked down as being - TALKATIVE. So to get those teachers off my back, I had to come up with a plan. And the plan was simply to teach myself how to read in such a way that it sounded like I understood what I was reading. Which meant back then, if you were a good reader you should be getting good grades. But because I had to concentrate in such a way so that the words would flow from my mouth, their real meaning just skipped right on past me. It was like seeing objects instead of words. And after 50 years of practice, I'm pretty good. I have no idea what the hell I'm reading, but the words flow out of me beautifully. Well those skills won't get you good grades, but eventually they helped me start a good career.
"As the twig is bent, so grows the tree".....
When a plant grows up in an environment where it can't establish roots, it will never mature as much as a plant which has 10 or 20 years in the same place. Growing up in the 1950's and 60's, wasn't made any easier for me after having to move around and end up going to 8 different elementary schools, 3 different high schools, and 2 different summertime locations. You just get to know someone and you're pulled off to another city - another state - another country. But that was then and this is now.....
Mom's family consisted of three sisters and a brother, while Dad had three brothers. So everyone had many chances of acquiring family roots by being around other relatives, friends, and neighbors while they were growing up. Not just for a year or so, but for 20 or 30 years."I - on the other hand - was not so fortunate. Dad was in the military and Mom was tired of being in the same city for all those years before she was married and loved the idea of moving around wherever Dad was stationed. Which meant, I was brought along for the ride too. And NO - it wasn't educational! It was a pain in the butt! So another skill that formed naturally in me, was to be very self-reliant and independent. Which meant that "team work" wasn't in my vocabulary. Of course they didn't write books back then to tell you how to raise a child or have a family. Mom and Dad just had to do it - one day at a time - and if the cookie crumbled............too bad
Born in Charleston SC at the Riverside Infirmary on April 8, 1944 - it wasn't until after I had a broken leg that the folks found out that "the boy needs glasses". Which means - those first 6 years were probably a blur to me. And by the time I started reading, I was discovering that words would sometimes flip around in my head. And the only thing that would help, was "reading-aloud".
