At My Father’s Ceremony They Said I Could Not Do Anything Right Until I Walked In And Smiled

ceremony in 1997, and a father who had come and stood straighter than anyone in the crowd. I told him I was starting there, and his face did something complicated that I chose to read as shame recognizing its own company.

I told him what I could.

Not everything. There would never be a version of my career I could give to anyone without a clearance, and continue reading …