Basements, Books, and Bacteriologists

I was fortunate that I was not prodded, pushed, or propelled into science, but was allowed to discover it on my own. I uncovered it in bits and pieces, strewn about our house, like buried treasure. First, I found the books.

I grew up in a small bungalow, in a blue collar neighborhood, the youngest of four children. My mother was a stay-at-home mom and my father worked the loading dock of a transport company. There was enough money for some treats, like getting fries and a coke during a grocery shopping trip, but I knew not to ask for more.