![]() ![]() He went AWOL when both of his parents died within a very short period of time. “My dad wasn’t going anywhere because he had a dishonorable discharge from the Army. One man in particular, the owner of a local haberdashery, gave him advice and encouragement, becoming a stand-in dad. Study hard, they told him, get out of the working class. Luckily Queenan had kindly neighbors who gave him odd jobs and – better yet – the academic perspective that he was sorely lacking. You can escape all this, they told him. My father couldn’t do it because he was jealous of us.” My mother couldn’t do it because she was damaged. “They never experienced joy through their children. It didn’t pertain to them, so it had no reality for them. They had no interest in it and no empathy. “But when I went back my parents didn’t ask me anything about my trip. ![]() The Eiffel Tower knocked me out,” he recalls. “When I went to France it was an adventure. Accepting, he took his first step toward a better, more expansive life and career. He did so well at it that they encouraged him with an extraordinary opportunity – the offer of a free trip to Paris at the age of 21. Joseph’s University his professors learned he had a distinct talent for writing, particularly satire. He had never thought of pursuing a career as a writer because he didn’t know anyone who had. ![]()
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