Character, as well as the lack of character is not inherited. It is passed on from parents, siblings, teachers and friends. The main influence, if you are lucky, are your parents. In my case, it was my mother. I'm not sure how my mother got her character, but she was a wise, literate and caring mother. It may be that the Catholic school upbringing imparted to her a basic goodness, but it must have been her life struggles that lent it depth.

Not only did my mother take us to movies like The Prince and the Pauper, Snake Pit, and Imitation of Life, but she sat me down with hot chocolate and cookies afterward and discussed the movie. The Prince and the Pauper was followed with questions like "Which boy do you think had the most fun? -- was the happiest?" And why do you think it is important to share your wealth with others not so fortunate? I read her face and always had the right answer. If I didn't understand, there was a simple story with a moral that explained it. I wasn't allowed to see Snake Pit until I was eleven, but as a five-year-old, she told me the basic story and read excerpts from the book. She wanted to make sure that I didn't develop prejudices against unfortunate victims of mental disease and she made sure we were tolerant and polite to wheel chair cases and retarded souls. I was often asked to put myself in those person's shoes and imagine the challenges of daily living.

Imitation of Life was a story about a very light skinned black girl who encounters racial prejudice in school. This movie instilled in me an awareness of the different levels of prejudice and it's unfair baggage. From then on, acquaintances who said things like, "They're all bad" and "I hate all of them" (other races) received a quick lecture from me in no uncertain terms. It's true that Hollywood movies glossed over real world ugliness but my mother made sure that the gems of wisdom were not overlooked. Her stories were laced with admonishments, warnings and not a little logic to help us survive in an unfair world. A side benefit of being able to read a story or poem out loud with feeling and emotion has sometimes come in handy. But thanks to my mother, the biggest benefit is knowing I belong to the enlightened part of the human race.