Jm Salmon: An Education For All

I’m sure my friend Bill Marvel would agree that he would never join any political party that would have him. But there was a time, back in 2008, when Bill gathered with us Democrats to drink beer and watch the election returns. Bill had dedicated the prior eight years to excoriating George W. Bush for his copious crimes and misdemeanors, most notably Bush’s two arbitrary, capricious and ultimately disastrous wars, costing $6 trillion and more than 6,000 American soldiers’ lives. Then Bill slowly migrated to the dark side, giving Donald Trump a four-year pass, and instead focused his considerable vituperative powers on the Conway School District and its teachers.

In 2009 and 2010, I worked as a substitute teacher at Kennett. It was a retirement bucket list gig, having graduated from Central Connecticut University with a license to teach high school social sciences. Instead, I pursued the dismal art of insurance underwriting and, over time, earned considerably more than I would have by teaching.