Freshman year and sophomore year, while in New York, just enough to stay eligible to play ball.

Junior year and senior year, when in Arizona, played the game, and looked like a genius, headed to college.

Realized success was knowing the answers. Knowing what the teachers wanted, not actually mastering the material. The tricks, memorization. The systems; I majored in test taking strategies while minoring in learning. When in doubt, select C. The longest answer is false. Circle the little words, like… not, but, always, never, and etc.

College freshman year, I got absolutely crushed, never learned how to learn.

It ended, thud!

I will never know why. For several years we spent hours together, especially during the summer, daily. We built a tree house, “golf course,” bowling alley in the basement, slept outside (summer and winter), went swimming in a neighbor’s pool, drove his parent’s car, illegally, and much more. Then one day playing 1 on 1 basketball I made a comment, “my knee had been hurting.”

He, unexpectedly, threw the ball in my face; to say the least I was stunned. I retrieved the ball. Beat him with a miracle shot and...

...we never spoke or interacted again.

Dear Keith,

Don’t be the compliant child. Don’t follow the rules. Most importantly, like the bumper sticker says, question authority. Someday you will write a novella entitled Living Under the Bleachers.

Understand all that dogma you were trained to bow down to will not make you happy and most of the rules parents laid down, they broke, yet you bought their excuses hook, line, and sinker. Those are the stories that will never be recorded for posterity. Nature or nurture I do not know, but we all have stories. Will yours be built on lies and fear?

Sincerely,

Keith Maynard

I was not a reader. In 6th grade, I was a member of the Black Bird reading group, where the four of us sat, without teacher support, wasting time. Stay quiet, be anonymous. I hide a transistor radio in my coat pocket, earphone tucked away in my ear.

Expected to read my King James bible. Comics, heaven forbid.

Finally, I know not how. Somehow I obtained a Hardy Boys book, The Tower Treasure, copyright, 1927. Eventually read them all. Next, all the John Steinbeck books. Thomas Hardy. Charles Dickens. Now a “readaholic,” my favorite is historical fiction, next, academic text.

Brown, soft, fuzzy, black button eyes (barely holding on), little pudgy, and very limber. Had this roommate since birth, often reminded by parents. Silent. Never gave me a hard time and never disagreed with me, but not much of a conversationalist. Wherever I went in the country, there it sat on my dresser. Never had a name. Just traveled along state to state, home to home.

Its name, just Teddy Bear.

So, based on my age, it must be well over seventy. Both beat up, wear and tear not always been good to us. Both looking ragged around the edges.

Welcome friends and family, this post is to allow you to publicly share a story in exactly 100-words (not including your title). Every day we leave behind dozens of stories and I for one would like to have the opportunity to know more about you; even from afar. Each week I will provide a new writing prompt. Your story should include a beginning, middle, and end.

Prompt: Share one event in history the year your were born, and its significance.

This is a recent phenomenon. Actually, for most of my life I hated writing and recall having work turned back from teachers covered in red marks and the caption, “redo.” I was convinced I would never be capable of producing even the most basic essay.

Like many other writers, I started to write because I started to read. There were Young Adult (YA) series in Middle School and more complex literature in High School. Moving through college, I realized I needed the ability to write research-based reports and papers. Taking a variety of writing classes, I also attended the Southern Arizona Writing Project (twice), where daily I was expected to write, for two weeks, eight hours a day, and to share my work with peers and presenters, receiving feedback both critical and encouraging.

I began to find authors, i.e., Thomas Hardy, John Steinbeck, Charles Dickens, and other classics. I really…