A REBELLIOUS GENE

Recently a close friend asked, “Where did you get your rebellious genes, Leo? I always see you as the peace maker.”




“From the women I was raised by! Grandma marched with the suffragettes to get women the right to vote. She also challenged her husband’s decision to keep one of his sons working on the farm rather than support the son’s desire to go to college and become a doctor. She left the farm and took the son and the two youngest daughters to live next to the university. The son became a surgeon.


My mother refused to endure the liquor-induced violence of her husband and called the police on him. She rebelled against long established patriarchal tradition.

A little rebelliousness is necessary for improving the status quo.”