Farewell to Frank McCourt

Author Frank McCourt described himself as a late bloomer, having not published his first novel -- The Pulitzer Prize-winning "Angela's Ashes" -- until he was in his 60s. I was late arriver to the McCourt bandwagon, having worked backward through his books within the past two years; first "Teacher Man," then "'Tis." I still haven't read "Ashes," though I finished watching the 1999 movie just this evening -- 15 hours after having read of McCourt's passing in the morning paper. McCourt's tale of growing up poor in Limerick, Ireland before gathering enough money to pursue his dreams in America, hit home with me as my family on my dad's side came to North America in the 19th Century, hoping for a better life. McCourt's tales of desperate times in the Irish slums are tinged with nostalgia; certainly not because of a desire to experience that life again, but because it helped form the man he became. In "Teacher Man," McCourt details his time as a high school English teacher -- one who experimented with lesson plans and did his best to encourage students to find their voice. The best way to find that voice, he said, was to speak about one's own experiences. McCourt travelled a rough path in life, growing up poor in a broken home and having three siblings die at an early age. But he pursued his dreams in America and though he got a late start as an author, his words -- his story -- now will live on because he found his voice and let it be heard. May he rest in peace.