Macca's back(a)!

We were all really really worried about Paul's health, weren't we? So here he is, the perkiest 72-year old on the planet, to reassure us.  He's touring the US for months this year, scores of concerts, and then back to Japan. Phenomenal energy. Inspiring.

Darn, the link doesn't work, I don't know why. Sorry. Well, he says he's fine, and he looks fine too, so we can all stop fretting.

One of my classes ended last night. One student was a wealthy retired developer and engineer originally from the Middle East, who was there specifically because his wife and children had insisted he go to therapy, and his therapist had insisted he write about his childhood. So being a sensible hardworking man, he registered for a course.

And a tough childhood his was too - mindbogglingly tough, by our standards. He not only got the hard stories down on paper, but he learned to write. By the end, his tales were brave and true but also crafted with skill. He told me that at his group therapy session the evening before, he'd read one of the essays he'd written for class, and the entire group decided to take the class. 

I told him he's an inspiration to us all. Men generally, if they take Continuing Ed writing classes - the huge majority are women - tend to take practical courses like travel and screenwriting, not the nebulous painful introspective stuff I teach. So to watch this man struggle and succeed so well was thrilling. It was a wonderful term.