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So we have here a book under the authorship of Carleton Anthony Dixon. It was written to the best of my ability and according to my lights at this point in my life. Perhaps next year I might write it better, or differently. However, as I’ve been pointedly made aware, next year might not come to me (or to any of us).

It is instructive and enlightening to write your own story. I recommend everyone write his or her book. I personally haven’t written anything longer than a letter since I was in high school, so it required the marshalling of all my powers of memory, description, and erudition to get my book done. I’ve read plenty of ’em, though, so I hope I have some idea what one should look like.

’Tis a poor thing, but ’tis mine own. Some of you may find it absorbing; others may find it inadequate to your needs. If you find it’s not up to your standards, I strongly urge you to just put it aside. Don’t waste time or thought or energy in condemning the writer. He has told his story as well as he could.

We advance our species by sharing our knowledge and our experience. Whether we glean a profound truth, an amusing anecdote, or a repugnant episode from each other’s stories, it all adds to our trove of data. It’s what we do with our trove that is significant. What I offer you as a writer and an artist and communicator is an interpretation of my set of experiences and received data, filtered through my unique mind. With the words I write I express my truth as I see it.

In summation, I hope you enjoy my book. If you don’t, you could try my next one. Or you could write your own.

— Carl Dixon, September 2014