I was brought up as an only child in a large household of adult women—my mother, grandmother and my four aunts. As the resident male, my grandfather found pursuits to occupy him in ways that liberated him from the often contentious house….mostly hanging out at our “local” and playing the horses. He was so devoted to the races that he eventually acquired his own racehorse, but that is another story for another time. My point is, I learned to read at an early age and was encour