But there in the house that pierced the hill on circle drive, I learned the basics of life. Dad is good and taught me that sometimes there’s no other cure for pain but the hard break. He offered to pull my teeth with pliers, to tie a string to a door and slam it shut.…

My dad, among others, affirmed the big family. And sometimes this meant speaking of the giant conspiracy. This includes the people you despise, you realize. If family’s big enough, you start to think of yourself as a part of the brotherhood of mankind. The founder of my alma mater, which was a small liberal arts…