Casey's Corner

By Casey Lartigue, Jr.

Being named a columnist for The Korea Times reminds me of when I landed my first column on my high school newspaper many, many moons ago.

For two glorious years, I wrote the column “Casey’s Corner.” Whenever I sold the paper, I offered two versions of the same edition: Unsigned by me ― $.25, signed by me ― $.50

I got very few takers for the signed copies. Some complained that my autograph had damaged the paper, so I should give away signed copies for free.

People who think I’m arrogant now should have met me in my younger days! “If I were you,” I’d confidently tell people as I signed my column, often against their will, “I’d save that paper. It only cost you $.25 today, but it is going to be worth millions one day.” Yes, few buyers (thanks Ralph! You too, Claudine!).

No one ever asked me if I was saving signed copies myself. It wasn’t until years later that someone actually wanted my autograph.

I had just participated in a forum for the release of the book “Educational Freedom in Urban America,’’ which I co-edited back in 2004. It was a big deal ― broadcast live on C-SPAN and then-Secretary of Education Rod Paige keynoted the event, praising me.

After the event, an attendee walked over to me, holding the book, asking the magical question: “Could you sign my book?”

I signed it, surprised. Then several others approached me, pen in hand. I realized that I didn’t have cool lines or philosophical sayings for the occasion. That would have been a surprise to those who helped me early on in my writing life.

I vividly recall the day that my 9th grade English teacher slipped me a note at the end of class. It was a command: “You are a great writer. Go see the journalism teacher. I’ve signed you up for the school paper.”

So that was it. She believed that I should be on the paper. I remember walking to the office, dazed, and reading the note over and over again, to sign up for journalism (I carried that note around for years).

I can’t say that I was entirely surprised. I enjoyed writing. I entertained my classmates with my stories during creative writing time. I guess that Ms. Robertson, who I had a crush on, was chuckling, too.

Ms. Robertson gave me the initial push into writing. The journalism teacher at the second high school that I attended was my true mentor.

My family moved a few miles to a new home. Due to the wonder of school zones, I transferred from a predominately black to a predominately white high school. My GPA went down, but my basketball skills and foot speed seemed to improve overnight.

I was new to the school, but the new journalism teacher, Mrs. Nancy Flowers, quickly offered me a spot as a columnist on the school paper. I believe that it was because of our early creative writing assignments.

I had suggested, in one of the assignments, that we rename the school paper, from “The Viking Venture” to something more action-oriented, like “The Viking Invaders!”

The next year, I was made co-editor, although there was some controversy about it. Apparently I was the first black editor in the school’s history, but some black students as well as my relatives thought that I should have been editor-in-chief.

The reality is that Mrs. Flowers had to talk me into taking the position. I loved being advertising manager. It gave me the freedom to write while also helping to raise money to make the paper self-supporting.

In college, I made it through Harvard Crimson’s “comp.” I sent some of my first articles to Mrs. Flowers. She praised me, but she also had many comments, some of them as long as my articles. She was always teaching me, while praising me and letting me know that even though I had done well, I could always do better.

I went on to have my own sports column when I was in college. I called Mrs. Flowers to tell her that I was no longer “Casey’s Corner.” I had graduated on to “Casey at the Bat.”

Unfortunately, Mrs. Flowers passed away while I was overseas so I never saw her again after high school. I wasn’t able to share with her when I finally got published in big-time papers like USA Today, the Washington Post, and Education Week. Years later, the website BlackMenInAmerica offered me web space as a columnist with the title “Casey’s Corner.”

I’m sure she would have enjoyed my first book. She probably would have even humored me by asking me for my autograph after redlining typos or pointing out sentences that I could have written in a better way.

The writer is the director for international relations at Freedom Factory Co. Ltd. in Seoul and a fellow with the Atlas Network in Washington, D.C. He can be reached at cjl@post.harvard.edu.