After watching the Oscars last night I was reminded of something that happened years ago when I was a volunteer tutor at 826 Valencia in San Francisco. A bunch of young teens from Oakland came to 826 for some help with their essays. One kid, slouching deeply into his hoodie, body language clearly indicating he’d rather be anywhere else, had one sentence in his notebook. I asked what he was writing about and he said, “All Quiet on the Western Front.” His one sentence: “The soldiers made lifelong friendships that didn’t last very long.”
I told him: this is one of the best sentences I’ve ever read. And it was true. Wish I remembered his name, but I will never forget the look on his face.
