Book excerpt: I was the child who stood quietly in corners and listened. I observed. I watched people and remembered the eventswhat was said, what I saw. As I grew up, I remembered those incidents, happenings, and stories; and I loved to share them with friends and students. Over the years, when people heard my stories, they always wanted to hear more and often told me I should write a book with my stories. After many years of listening to people tell me to write, I wrote this book about the start of my life in a little town in Monett, Missouri. I have written about my parents, my hometown, people I knew, and incidents I observed. The book is filled with my love for this little town and all the people I knew. I am happy to now share those stories with each of my readers. Home again.