Does anyone like to remember the things he failed at? Not likely. Some failures one can’t forget even if he tries but those are few. Most failures are put in the back of the mind and are forgotten because they are inconsequential. Others are too painful and are put aside in hope of forgetting. A failure I don’t mind sharing is that I was always a lousy history student.

History seemed irrelevant to me. It was about dead people. It was about remembering names, dates and wars. I was like the Hebrews; dates didn’t matter except in relation to other important events. What did all that stuff have to do with me, or the world I lived in? Perhaps an answer to this question would have generated some interest where none existed.

History required a lot of reading that always took a long time. I didn’t’ have the patience to read very long, especially something I wasn’t interested in. Reading was never one of my favorite endeavors. I need something early on to pique my interest or I am discouraged from continuing; it needs a hook, as I have learned. I suppose the real problem was that I was a slow reader. I saw print as words rather than phrases. This slowed down my speed.

I have no idea why I enrolled in a European history class as an elective as a student at Lincoln Memorial Universety. I remember only one thing from the class. Miss Lotspiech spoke of a painting by an artist who portrayed Moses without a beard. I asked if they had razors in Moses time. The only answer I got was a look of disdain. At that moment both she and I both knew that I was a failure as a history student. In the end however she was kind to me. She gave me a D, the lowest passing grade.

I transferred to the University of Kentucky to pursue an engineering degree. The generously given D turned out to be just a kindness. It was not transferable. In the end I had to take another course to make up for the deficit. It was not history. Because of the deficit I spent the summer after I should have graduated taking courses to complete requirements for a degree. The truth be known I would have taken summer school regardless of the non-transferable grade because I needed even more credits to graduate. So there was nothing lost.

Since my student days I learned that history does have consequences for future generations. That has not caused me to read history books. I believe historians are dull writers. There are writers who can write history as an interesting narrative. I have found a few such writers in recorded books and have actually enjoyed them.

Couldn’t the world be a better place by regarding history as a great teacher? Maybe so. But who’s paying attention?