Thank you, Sears, for letting me test my literary wings

My heart breaks each time there is a report of the decline of Sears. The once-mighty retailer straddled the country like a colossus that touched millions of lives; now it is a shrunken giant that barely avoided bankruptcy.

Years ago, Sears was robust enough to hire me, a young black man fresh out of college and the Army, and make me a copywriter on the company’s iconic catalog. The job was a godsend and provided me with the confidence to meet the daunting challenges of the tumultuous 1960s. For me and many other African-Americans, those were the best of times and the worst of times.

I joined about a dozen other young people (all white except for one black female) who wrote the descriptive paragraphs beneath pictures of merchandise. It was a diverse group, but virtually all intended Sears to be a stepping stone to glamorous writing jobs with advertising agencies and magazines. (Not an unrealistic dream, for Playboy’s Hugh Hefner started as a copywriter with a company not as elite as Sears.) There also was the possibility of someday becoming of one of the lordly “buyers” who made the big bucks at Sears.

I had other plans, however — I was going to be the author of acclaimed and bestselling novels.

I don’t know if the dreams of my catalog colleagues came true, but I’m almost certain that all kept Sears on their resumes when applying for jobs. Surely any company or organization worth working for recognized the value of someone who was able to write precise and persuasive prose.

I never got around to writing the “Great American Novel,” and I predict that this century’s “Naked and the Dead” will come from a former grunt who served two tours in Afghanistan.

I’m disappointed that I didn’t write that novel, but I was able to accept my failure. After all, success doesn’t always follow desire, no matter how much it’s wanted. Ask any Bears fan.

Still, I’m grateful to Sears for providing me with the opportunity to test my literary wings. I hope there are companies that give today’s aspiring writers the chance — and training — I received.