A self made American man

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February 18 is my birthday

It always reminds me that when I was young I felt like I had been dealt a pretty bad hand. No money, no connections, too small for sports, 20/400 vision, etc.

But I had been taught that I should be committed to success - or something like that - and so I undertook to pull myself up by my bootstraps - yada -yada - yada. I worked at it, overcame some bad decisions, and got a few breaks. I spent 48 years in the American university system as a student, teacher, and researcher in what I think it would be fair to say was a successful and productive career.

Thirty years ago I was quite proud of it, but later it did not seem so far to go.

I would recommend that if you have those disadvantages and you want to be a self-made person and you have choices I would recommend that you:
1. be born into a family with a strong sense of responsibility,
2. be born in the United States of America, and
3. be born in the early 1940s.
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