Author's Revisions

One of the excruciating things about being an author -- especially a first-book author -- is to come across all the errors, typos, and just plain crudities in your first edition. One longs for a second edition of the book and the opportunity to correct its sometimes embarrassing imperfections.

In line with the above, what follows is my current list of corrections. If you happen to own a copy of my book (Leaving the Farm, Oolichan Books, 2007), please note them and forgive my mistrakes, for which I am entirely responsible.

Note of explanation: In the case of revised paragraphs, one has to be careful to keep the same length as the original so as not to upset the book's page sequence. Hence the added word counts.

REVISION (top of page 194):

Original

One day when we were out sliding there was another visitor at the Tysons’, a kid from Loretto named Rudy, who was one of those unfortunates among school children like the gamma member of a pack of wolves. He was the butt of jokes, and the Tysons especially teased him unmercifully. Having been teased and the butt of jokes myself, I felt sorry for Rudy. But then he seemed to ask for it by his craving for acceptance, his tail-between-his-legs hanging around alpha kids like the Tysons. It didn’t help matters that, besides wearing glasses, he had a whiney voice and was a bit of a sissy. [106 words]

Revision

It was a reckless ride, another of the Tysons’ initiations. One day a fresh initiate, a kid from Loretto named Rudy, joined us on the Tysons’ hill. In school, and especially with the Tysons, he was like the omega member of a pack of wolves. He was teased and the butt of jokes. Having been teased and the butt of jokes myself—having been, like him, a bottom dog—I could identify with Rudy. Why he hung around alpha kids like the Tysons, I suppose was because he wanted, as I did, their acceptance. It didn’t help matters that he wore glasses, seemed a bit of a sissy. [106 words]

MOST IMPORTANT CHANGE (if revision of entire paragraph impossible):

Page 194, first sentence: “. . . like the gamma member of a pack of wolves. . . . “ Change “gamma” to “omega.”


REVISION (bottom of page 64):

Original

L’Ange (spelled Lange by then) died in 1887, the same year my maternal grandfather was born. It was also the year that the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (the Soo Line) cut through the Hamel land below the settlement known then as Medina (the name of the township), constructed a depot, and named it Hamel. By that time hay was the family’s principal crop, and William Hamel and his sons were hauling it off the farm to sell to owners of horse-drawn vehicles in Minneapolis—to the streetcar company (until its cars were electrified), creameries and ice companies, and private owners of horses and buggies. [107 words]

Revision

L’Ange (spelled Lange by then) died in 1887, the same year my maternal grandfather was born. It was also the year that the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (the Soo Line) cut through the Hamel land below the settlement known then as Lenz (for Leonard Lenz, the postmaster), constructed a depot, and named it Hamel. By that time hay was the family’s principal crop, and William Hamel and his sons were hauling it off the farm to sell to owners of horse-drawn vehicles in Minneapolis—to the streetcar company (until its cars were electrified), creameries and ice companies, and private owners of horses and buggies. [107 words]

REVISION (bottom of page 80):

Original

Together they watched Bobby Jones play in the St. Paul Open. My father played golf too, of course, once taking the lead and drawing a crowd in a tournament at Alexandria, Minnesota. But then: I blew up under the pressure. [40 words]

Revision

Together they watched Bobby Jones win the 1930 U.S. Open at the Interlachen Country Club in Edina. My father played golf too, of course, once taking the lead in a tournament at Alexandria, Minnesota. But then: I blew up under the pressure. [42 words]

TYPOS

Page 65, last paragraph: change Hennepin “Country” to “County.”

Page 101, second paragraph, sentence beginning “The teacher was reading to us to one warm, sleepy afternoon . . . Delete second “to.”

Pages 179-180: missing numbers

Page 182, second to last paragraph: change “blwoing” to “blowing.”

CORRECTIONS

Page 55, second to last paragraph: change “only nineteen” to “twenty-two.”

Page 61, first paragraph: change “nine years later” to “six years later.”

Page 209, middle of last paragraph: change “on those long summer evenings” to “in . . .”