I have learned from my suffering

Dear Mark,

I much appreciated your introductory article, but at age 68, more for the good of posterity then myself. In my years, I have known many and diverse 'life sufferers' in addition to myself. The live description is far too long to give here.

At the age of 16, amidst serious peer violence, at times with weapons, a special teacher called a moratorium about six weeks before final exams: "Bruce, stop dissertating everyone with electronics and the rest, stop the violence so we can study for final exams!"

Little did anyone know the hidden benefits of that, far beyond teacher's expectations. For the first time in my life, I saw peers treating each other and myself with some respect. About two weeks later, in a memorable moment, I realized that I must have 'some serious personality problem'; I didn't know what it was, but I knew what I didn't know and estimated I would be fighting it for life or close to. In retrospect, I was remarkably accurate for the precious little I knew.

For all those sufferers, nobody, including multiple mental health professionals, has ever known what to do with that, I have done, but not for money. I have had a career, still have a wife of 30 years standing (but no children for medical reasons) and now focus on finding 'horses that will drink' in the younger generations in English, French, and Spanish in a city where there are some 780 languages in a day. Favourite remark: ¡Haber compasión es la hija de han sida sofríe! (To have compassion is the daughter of having suffered!)