Craig Wilson interviews Dear Neighbor columnist Dorothy Richards about her passion for the Spanish language, wit and whom she admires most.
Where did you grow up and attend school?
I grew up in Northfield, went to St. Dominic’s Elementary School and graduated from Northfield Senior High. These years were not unlike living in Mayberry. College followed in Minneapolis, then grad school in St. Louis.
How did you develop an interest in the Spanish language?
I fell in love with the language when I began to study it in the ninth grade. The structure and grammar made sense to me, and conjugating verbs was immeasurably satisfying. I’d always been a language wonk and Spanish gave it focus. What I hated, however, was the book we used. It was poorly organized, hopelessly lacking in both explanations and exercises, and more than anything it was boring. What ninth grader in small-town America gives a rip about the topography of the Pyrenees Mountains? Nobody I can imagine. At age 14 I was reading a passage about a town hall (el ayuntamiento) somewhere in Spain and thought, without a trace of hubris, I could write a better textbook than this.
How many books have you written?
Around 10 original texts followed by many subsequent editions. All in all, I have no idea.
What brought you to the Cedar-Isles-Dean neighborhood?
I was married in 1995 and moved here from St. Paul. The marriage didn’t make the long haul but my love for the neighborhood never waned. It reminds me of Martha’s Vineyard – sorta fancy and a whole lotta groovy.
You’re a mother of two?
Yes – Daisy (24) and Lily (21). Because of these name choices people often assume I’m a gardener. I am not. I’ve never met a botanical offering I didn’t slaughter due to neglect. Love and appreciation, while they can’t fertilize a plant, do wonders for a child. My greatest joy is that our mother-child relationship now includes friendship.
Where did you develop your sense of humor and how would you describe it?
I don’t think I developed anything beyond how I see life, which is often utterly absurd. People do the weirdest things, usually with a straight face and completely seriously. I learned long ago that you can get all sanctimonious about other people’s thoughts and actions or you can just sit back and watch the show, learning from people with opposing views. If the show gets too awful you can walk away. And of course, you can then write it all down in a scathing report and email it to a good friend. I guess my humor is based in snotty optimism: No matter how rotten something is, laughter is the best reward.
What is the focus of your new column in the Hill and Lake Press?
I want to write about things that I think about. And I think about a lot of things.
Whom do you admire most?
I venerate anyone who has taken great risk and jumped off a cliff into the unknown in an effort to be a better person. I admire people who are honest, people who think deeply about things, who cultivate their originality, who consistently choose good over evil, and loving parents and loyal friends.
