Writing

Here’s a list of helpful quotes that I’ve referred to during my life during times of uncertainty, and I’ve had plenty. I’ll add to these as I find more that mean something to me, and maybe to you as well. “If you want friends, be friendly.” Peace Pilgrim “If you don’t have anything nice to…

I knew it was coming. I just didn’t think it would be this soon. I don’t like that it had to be this way, but DVD Netflix will ship its last disc on September 29, 2023. The reason given is that the DVD market is shrinking, and the company didn’t want to compromise the depth and variety…

Author Donna Tartt’s expert craft in word choice, phrase construction, paragraph progression, and plot architecture combined with narrator David Pittu’s deep, exact pronunciation and dramatic inflection made all 32 hours of listening to The Goldfinch (2013) audiobook—simply delicious. The novel centers around Theo Decker, a young man who lost his mother through tragedy and gained a priceless…

Recently, I was honored to speak at the National Authors Day celebration hosted by the Chenango County Historical Society and SUNY Morrisville (Norwich campus). This gave me the opportunity to revisit the homeland of William E. Dimorier, whose life and service I spent many years researching and writing about. The early morning of November 1st started off with…

As one who has done a fair amount of research on World War One and whose great uncle died in that war, I was especially eager to read Bill Welch’s book, Duty, Terror and Survival: The World War One Diary and Art of Doughboy Cp. Harold W. Pierce. Bill and I were part of the Erie…

Getting my book William E. Dimorier: Servant Leader onto Amazon was quite an uphill climb, especially for me who would rather do anything but spend time clicking through menus. Hopefully reading my story will save you some headaches when you list yours. I Googled how to do sell my independently published book on Amazon found a handy How-To page.…

Here’s an updated and improved index to William E. Dimorier: Servant Leader, published in February 2022. While the book is about a particular man who was born in upstate New York and spent his career in Erie, PA, the lives of the people he interacted with over the years are included in the book.

It might be too good to be true, but the CDC and Joe Biden say we no longer have to wear masks if we are fully vaccinated. Funny that this happened on a day that I expressed my extreme frustration in a a poem. Enough It meets the mandate, this thing across my face. The…

Key news-writing principals remain relevant today, even as publication methods and delivery systems evolve. An article entitled “Newspaper By-Laws,” written nearly 150 years ago, provides an excellent example. The unbylined article appeared in the Broome County Republican on February 17, 1875, and it exists on microfilm available through interlibrary loan from the New York State library. Here…

The feelings that come like a flood when mothers face the impending empty nest are universal and timeless. Whether they have stayed at home, or have enjoyed rewarding careers, many mothers feel varying degrees of loss and confusion as their children head out into the world. Recently, I wrote about what it means to be a…