Completely in the Dark

A high school senior’s job is to finish high school.

But a high school graduate’s job always defies description.

It’s a theme that’s pursued me most of my life, even though everything seems in order.

By 1978, I’d been a paperboy for the Sunday Minneapolis Tribune, a busboy at the swanky Lafayette Club; I’d schlepped fast food at Ridgedale mall and, that June, was a janitor for Triangle Maintenance Services in Golden Valley.

I would’ve included my co-editor-in-chief duties at the school paper, but since that was part of “finishing high school” it didn’t seem to count.

It’s really a shame because I learned skills I still use today: writing and editing, typing, typesetting and layout, selecting stories for print, and working with staff and printers.

It was like a full-time job, but never felt like it because I loved every minute of it.

Classmates who…