Talking Back
... To Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels
Chapter One
Copyboy
I'm not sure how I got to be so pushy. In the beginning, and even now, I wanted to
emulate Miss Virginia Clair and be a lady and an ace reporter at the same time. It's a
balancing act I'm still sorting out after nearly four decades in the business. Though I'm
viewed by many of my colleagues (and my subjects) as aggressive, I see myself rather
differently, as shy, trying to overcome a basic reserve and bookishness.
My mother, a first-generation American who lived through the Great Depression
and World War II, used to worry that I was too tough when questioning political figures.
As a younger woman she had a fear of authority, and she couldn't figure out where I'd
developed such a "fresh mouth," as she put it. But I'd always been something of a rebel,
getting into trouble talking back to teachers at school or cracking jokes in class. Maybe it
has something to do with being the middle child of three, eager to carve out my niche and
attract attention in my own way.
My parents provided an example of lives lived with a deep sense of purpose and a
strong code of behavior. To them, and to most of their generation, nothin ... read full excerpt from: Talking Back ebook
