The children decided among themselves that they had to be realistic: only one could go on in school after grade seven. They all won scholarships to high school (which was not free), but the rent and grocery money had to come from somewhere. They chose one of my uncles to continue his education, while the other siblings found any paid work they could, hiding from my grandmother that they had dropped out until, one by one, she found them out …
Bio:
Rona Altrows is an essayist, fiction writer, editor, and playwright. She is the author of three books of short fiction, A Run on Hose, Key in Lock, and At This Juncture, and the children’s book The River Throws a Tantrum. She is the editor of You Look Good for Your Age, a new anthology on women, aging, and ageism (University of Alberta Press).