activist who described a particular job program as a throwback to the
Progressive Era. I had no idea what the Progressive Era was, and back in
the office, I got out the World Book Encyclopedia. Mike Armstrong
wanted to know what I was doing, and when I explained, he asked me if I
had ever thought of going to college.
"Why should I give up this job to go to college?" I asked. "You've got
college graduates working here who are doing what I'm doing."
"You may not believe this," he said. "but there are better jobs out there
than the one you've got now. You might get one of them one of these
days. But not without a college degree." Mike promised me that if I went
to college, I could come back to The Phoenix anytime I wanted. But, he
added, he didn't think I would. Lori's friends told me that Columbia
University was the best in New York City. Since it took only men at the
time, I applied to its sister college, Barnard, and was accepted. I received
grants and loans to cover most of the tuition, which was steep, and I'd
saved a little money while working at The Phoenix. But to pay for the
rest, I had to spend a year answering phones at a Wall Street firm.
Once school started, I could no longer pay my share of the rent, but a
psychologist let me have a room in her Upper West Side apartment in
exchange for looking after her two small sons. I found a weekend job in
an art gallery, crowded all my classes into two days, and became the
news editor of the Barnard Bulletin. But I gave that up when I was hired
as an editorial assistant three days a week at one of the biggest
magazines in the city. Writers there had published books and covered
wars and interviewed presidents. I got to forward their mail, check their
expense accounts, and do word counts on their manuscripts. I felt I'd
arrived. Mom and Dad called us now and then from Grandpa's to bring
us up to date on life in Welch. I began to dread those calls, since every
time we heard from them, there was a new problem: a mudslide had
washed away what was left of the stairs; our neighbors the Freemans
were trying to get the house condemned; Maureen had fallen off the