the problem many kids encounter is theyre given hemingaway way too early

and teachers show off the wrong book.

if you give a freshman or sophomore high school boy “the old man and the sea”

a book about subtleties and nuance – youre gonna bore the kid to death

and youre going to forget that young people are full of life

and distracted.

sun also rises, maybe, but i would stick to the Nick Adams Stories

id do something like “the short happy life of francis macomber”

a short tale that was originally published in Cosmopolitan back in ’36

(i know, seriously)

a story that represents all of hemingways themes of failed relationships

machismo, foreign lands, and courage.

in college i would teach them garden of eden, an unfinished novel

who scribners and sons cut 2/3rds from before they released it

(i know, seriously)

thats a love story about a man, his wife,

and, um, a second woman.

ok, fine, maybe grad school.

happy birthday papa!

“Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today.”