I think I’m supposed to use this page to introduce myself, but really, who gives a damn?

Oh. You do? That’s why you clicked onto the “About Me” link on the previous page? Well, okay then. I should probably start at the beginning. That’s me in the picture on my second birthday. In 1979 we experienced a helluva ice storm here in Texas, and consequently we went for several days without power. This would be maddening for a normal family but since my parents owned a dairy farm the weather moved from the “maddeningly irritating” column right into the “financially disastrous” one. Without power they couldn’t milk the cows or power the stainless steel tank that regulated the temperature of the milk. So my dad spent a day on the phone tracking down a generator powerful enough to provide electricity to the milk barn. Unfortunately, the generator was several hours away from our home, so my mom, dad, and grandfather proceeded to traverse the treacherously icy roads to pick up the generator. They left me with my grandmother, iced in, on my second birthday.

My grandmother tried her level best to throw me a little party, but without the means to drive into town we lacked decorations, cake, and party guests. She baked me a little lop-sided cake and found some left-over candles to stick on the top, and she sang me “Happy Birthday.” Apparently at the end of the song I told her in my 2-year old broken English that I couldn’t blow out the candles without a birthday hat. She had no hats, so I got my ViewFinder box and improvised.

I like to think that lonely birthday defined me in some important ways. As bad as life gets it can always get worse, so you may as well find yourself a hat and have a party while you can. When life gives you lemons make a lemon curd and some poundcake…that’s what I always say.

Anyway, I grew up in a no-traffic-light town, went to school and graduated with a class of ten, and then spent several years in a tech school learning computer programming only to find out that I didn’t have the patience for it. So I transferred into a four-year, got a B.A. in English, enrolled in a graduate program in San Antonio, got my M.A. in English, and got married. Now I read, write, and blog. My wife occasionally pries my fingers off the keyboard long enough to go to the gym or to see a movie. I started Hyperliterature on Blogger as a way to share information with my colleagues in an English class, but when the class ended I kept right on blogging. If you’re new to Hyperliterature welcome, and if you followed me over here then I thank you.

Now, grab your hat and let’s have some fun…