Show Me the Place, 34

“Show me the place.”

Duke Senior in As You Like It (2.1)

34: Western Reserve Academy; Hudson, Ohio; 1979–81

I taught two years—had lots of fun—

But then a salary snit:

They offered me a sum, but I

Just couldn’t live with it.

And so I quit—and thought that I

Would find another job.

I didn’t—not at first—I felt

I’d joined Les Misérables.

I taught part-time at KSU—

Worked part-time as a clerk—

And knew throughout that gloomy year

That I had been a jerk.