This is the first attempt at my blog.  It took a long time to get the book done, but now that it’s done, and I’m officially an author,  my next new adventure is blogging.  So here it goes. 

August 28, the day after I turned 71, the book was published.  It’s definitely cool to say I wrote a book and now I would like to share it.  

I must admit I’m more than a “blogger.”  For the last few years, I’ve been working with Elaine Shuck sharing first-hand experiences with high school students about my personal experiences on 9/11.  I think it’s important to recognize that this life-changing event continues to touch their lives in ways they don’t even recognize.  I try to give them the first-hand account so they can somehow visualize the reality of what has changed in the country and in the world.  I also point out that a few evil people should never be allowed to overshadow the thousands of people who came to help. To learn more about this event and others go to i2i presents 9:11/ 16 Years Later.

I’ve spoken to classes of students in Long Beach, New York, the town in which I grew up.  I’ve had the opportunity to address the residents as well. 

But there’s a lot more to me than 9/11.  I’m far from a one-note song. In September via my friends on Facebook, I’ve been able to share my new book.  My first wave of readers included folks I’m close to.  I obviously awaited feedback, and although I’m quite self-confident about things, I wanted to hear their opinion of my book.  Generally, my friends participated in different segments of my life, and therefore different parts of book became familiar to them. 

I must admit I’m thrilled with the feedback.  Roberta told me I reminded her of our days together at Bellevue and things she hadn’t thought about for years.  Eileen loved the police narratives, while Megan was touched by some of my thoughts about my growing up.  Lana texted me from Florida to tell me that I made her cry when I reminded her of the tragic day that we lost Joe. 

I want to hear your feedback too, which can be done here, under customer reviews!

I wrote the book to share the experiences and all the things I’ve learned from so many people who have touched my life and taught me so much.   

At the end of the month, I had the pleasure of traveling to South Dakota to visit my friend, mentor and supporter Elaine.  In addition to the two nurses who first lit the fuse for me to write my experiences, Elaine, who I met through an associate read my early draft of the book and loved it.  I’ve become a good friend of hers and her family, and I’ve spent a great week in South Dakota. I had the opportunity to speak to the locals and ended up on the news.

So, for me I’m moving forward to more adventures.  Headed to Raleigh to see my grandchildren in a couple of weeks.  Then onto Florida for a book fair in November, still not sure what this involves but going along for the ride.  The new stuff continues and I’m having fun doing it.

I’ll be blogging more when I feel like sharing more stuff and telling everyone how things are progressing.  What began as a side attraction and a hobby has become a true calling requiring probably more work than I feel like doing.  As long as I’m having fun, I’ll keep pressing on.  See you soon.