"My parents didn't hang a banner welcoming me home, but neither did they hang me in effigy, so I don't think they mind that I'm back."
At age 26, Wayne Muncie is adrift. After teaching high school social studies for five years, his pedagogical clock has wound down. He moves to Greeley, Colorado, home of his alma mater, where a succession of low-paying jobs is followed by a review of a graduate-school catalog. A master's degree in history, though, would land him right back in a high-school classroom. So to cut expenses, he moves to Denver, into his parents' basement. He finds temporary work as a skip tracer, then, unexpectedly, a plum long-term substitute-teaching position. When that position ends, he's ready to move on. Although his future is uncertain, he is certain he won't be attending his ten-year high-school reunion. Steve Western again brings us Wayne Muncie, the basic-math teacher from
Why Do We Have To Learn This Crap?: Twenty-Five Days in the Life of a Basic-Math Teacher
. In
An Adventure of Sorts
we find Wayne in his pre-math-teacher days, credentialed to teach and with some experience, but already weary of it. Steve Western has given Wayne a gentle and humorous story to tell us, with amusing yet keen observations about the passing scene and Wayne's own appreciation of himself.