Born in Ireland, Joe Mara spent most of his youth in England before heading across the Atlantic to the bright lights of New York City where he taught at Bank Street College, Bard Summer Academy and the Children's Museum of Manhattan. Enamoured of film production, Joe was also a video artist in residency at the Professional Performing Arts School and the School of Science and Technology in Manhattan and ran a Teacher's Media Center where teachers were taught how to use video technology in the classroom. Being Irish, Joe was also a lover of words, writing a column for his local newspaper and short stories, as well as this personal memoir. In death as in life, this is one of the many gifts Joe bestowed to the world.