Do you remember learning to read? I don’t. I do remember sitting in a circle in those little red chairs with Dick and Jane, Spot and Puff. But I don’t recall learning the words. I simply read. Same way with colors. I don’t remember ever learning the names of those waxy scented, glossy crayons in that yellow and blue box. I just knew and colored. I do have a memory of taking a ruler and putting it under the line I was reading so that it blocked out all the other lines, making it easier to concentrate on one line at a time and not lose my place. But, the words were always there.

When I was in the third grade, Mama took a trip back home to Kansas City to see her relatives. Of course, my brother and I went with her. One of the things we did was…