A man's memory is bound to be a distortion of his past in accordance with his present interests, and the most faithful autobiography is likely to mirror less what a man was than what he has become. Housework is a breeze.
Cooking is a pleasant diversion.
Putting up a retaining wall is a lark. But teaching is like climbing a mountain. Show me a character whose life arouses my curiosity, and my flesh begins crawling with suspense. A passion for politics stems usually from an insatiable need, either for power, or for friendship and adulation, or a combination of both. There is, of course, a gold mine or a buried treasure on every mortgaged homestead.