Frederick McKinnonFrederick R. McKinnon Jr. might not have seemed to be destined to become a writer. As a lad growing up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, he was more interested in baseball than books. His elementary grade schooling did little to change that as it wasn't unti he entered St. Augustine Diocesan High School (in Park Slope, Brooklyn) that he was assigned to read quality literature (including some extremely long novels). Always a good student, he fulfilled his assignments and was, accordingly, exposed to classic works by great writers. He began to recognize the power and the pleasure of the written word. Nevertheless, his academic strengths continued to shine in mathematics and the sciences rather than the humanities. Upon graduation from high school, Fred's desire was to become a chemical engineer. He was initially successful in pre-engineering courses at Hunter College in the Bronx and soon transferred to The City College of New York, with its prestigious engineering program. But he began to realize that a vocation of working with abstract molecular models and performing technical calculations might not be in his stars. In his junior year, he could be found sitting in the rear of his physical chemistry class writing poetry. It was then that he decided it was more important to pursue his immediate interests (studying time-honored authors and becoming a writer), so he transferred back to Hunter College in the Bronx, with its esteemed English Department, and became an English major. In 1968, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree (with a major in English and a minor in physics). After that, he commenced what was to be a lifelong, rewarding profession in teaching, where he could share his love of literature and passion for writing. Anthology comprises a selection of Fred's literary works from poetry to fiction to theater to travel literature to personal essays-all works he would now like to share with friends, family and anyone who might want to gain insight into a person revealed through his words. Read More Read Less