In literature he is my patron saint.
Out of the twelve months in a year I suppose that, on an average,
I spend six months away from Tuskegee. While my being absent from
the school so much unquestionably has its disadvantages, yet
there are at the same time some compensations. The change of work
brings a certain kind of rest. I enjoy a ride of a long distance
on the cars, when I am permitted to ride where I can be
comfortable. I get rest on the cars, except when the inevitable
individual who seems to be on every train approaches me with the
now familiar phrase: "Isn't this Booker Washington? I want to
introduce myself to you." Absence from the school enables me to
lose sight of the unimportant details of the work, and study it
in a broader and more comprehensive manner than I could do on the
grounds. This absence also brings me into contact with the best
work being done in educational lines, and into contact with the
best educators in the land.
But, after all this is said, the time when I get the most solid
rest and recreation is when I can be at Tuskegee, and, after our
evening meal is over, can sit down, as is our custom, with my
wife and Portia and Baker and Davidson, my three children, and
read a story, or each take turns in telling a story.
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