Glynn at 6 months
A Note About Why I am Writing My
Autobiography
No words can ever disclaim the egotism that
ultimately underlies the writing of an autobiography. Putting the
story of my life on a public web site compounds what seem obviously
to be egocentric motivations, so I will not even try to express
an unconvincing and disingenuous humility.
Reading what someone else writes about himself is
always voluntary, and I will not be unduly distressed by anyone’s
decision never to click on the first Autobiography navigation
button, nor will I apologize if someone having clicked on the first
page, never reaches or reads beyond this first paragraph.
Having excused everyone from any further inquiry
into my life, I will give a brief apologia
for taking the trouble to write
about it. I have two very concrete reasons and another which is
undeniably the "ego thing."
1. Someone said a life unconsidered is not worth
living. I am now in my 68th year and enjoying my first
year of retirement and it seems good to me to spend some time
considering my life. Like everyone, I have had, and still have
assets and liabilities. I’ve had and still have hopes and
aspirations. I have also had good and bad fortune or, if you prefer
a world less determined by the fickleness of chance, Divine Will has
closed some doors and opened others in pursuing my dreams and
aspirations.
I’ve made lots of choices, some good and some bad,
and I’ve made mistakes, some disastrous and some fortuitous. All and
all, I believe life (God) has been good to me, and although some
things about my life I might be tempted to change, I would hesitate
to do so even if possible. Changing anything in my past would alter
my present, and on the whole, I like who I am just fine.
2. Like all human beings, I am the product of both a
biological chain and a family history. Although I will leave behind
no biological descendants, I am part of the family story and I
cherish what I know of it. I am grateful for the stories passed on
to me orally by those who preceded me in the family.
Oral tradition, however, is lost in most families
after a generation or two. (Little has come down to me prior to the
lives of my great-grandparents.) For this reason I want very much to
leave a written record for kinfolks who have inherited our story and
are now part of it. I want my brothers’ children to know the family
tales and personalities, especially my older brother’s son and
daughters, who like me lost their father as children and know him
only through the memories of others.
I have also have some family pictures from the past
and I have spent some time researching the public records of my
family history. These also need to be set down.
3. Finally, there is the "ego thing." I have the
conceit to think the story of my life is interesting.
My Name and How I Got
It
My full name is Glynn Compton Harper
and I was born on October 21, 1935 in the community of Huber,
Texas. Huber is (or was) halfway between Center, Texas, the county
seat of Shelby County, and Timpson, Texas. Timpson is best
known as the second city in the Crap shooters' mantra to roll the
number 10, "Tenaha, Timpson, Bobo, and Blair." My name "Glynn"
was pulled from thin air as far as I know. The Welch spelling is my
mother's own contrivance, a quirk she reserved for naming me and one
of her dogs, a mixed terrier named
"Speckx."
