I was functionally illiterate until I reached the tenth grade. At that time I was fifteen years old. Until that period I could read a few words, spell even fewer words and could not write at all. In fact, to this day I am only able to illegibly print, the remnant of a trick I used to hide my inability to spell. In spite of my academic deficiencies which shadow me to this day, I acquired a fascination for words and their meanings. By the time I finished my second master’s degree I accumulated somewhat of a Buckley-esque vocabulary. However, forging a comprehensive vocabulary took a great deal of time and work and a lot of sweat and tears.