Posts filed under ‘WALT’S OBSERVATIONS’
SUPPORT OUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE
LET’S COME TOGETHER
AT
CHESTER COUNTY BOOK AND MUSIC COMPANY
This is to remind my readers that I, and a host of other local authors, will be at my favorite bookstore, Chester County Book and Music Company, this Friday night, October 26.
This event is to support the store which will either go out of business or move. We hope it plans a move for it is an important part of our community.
Here is a flyer with more details:
COME JOIN US!
OCTOBER 26, 2012 6 to 9 PM
AUTHORS SAY THANK YOU TO
CHESTER COUNTY BOOK & MUSIC COMPANY
EVENT #1 of 2: Come celebrate, support, and say THANKS to this over 30-years old local independent bookstore that may be closing. Shop and socialize with area authors including Cordelia France Biddle, Jen Bryant, Nero Blanc, Jim Breslin, Jessica Dimuzio, Merry Jones, Susan Beth Lehman, Lisa Loeb, Bruce Mowday, Kathye Fetsko Petrie, Jan Mulligan, Marc Schuster, Kelly Simmons, Gloria Slater, Chris Shaughness, Jerry Spinelli, Eileen Spinelli, Joelle Sterling, Laura Tamakosh, Walt Trizna and Steve Zettler
975 Paoli Pike, West Goshen Center, West Chester, PA 19380 Tel. 610.696.1661
November 23, 2012 6 to 9 PM
AUTHORS SAY THANK YOU TO
CHESTER COUNTY BOOK & MUSIC COMPANY
EVENT #2 of 2: Come celebrate, support, and say THANKS to this over 30-years old local independent bookstore that may be closing. Shop and socialize with area authors including Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban, Stephen Fried, Beth Kephart, Elizabeth Letts, Jonathan McGoran, Karen E. Quinones Miller, Jan Mulligan, Kathye Fetsko Petrie, Chris Shaughness, Lisa Scottoline, Francesca Serritella, Kelly Simmons and K.M. Walton
975 Paoli Pike, West Goshen Center, West Chester, PA 19380 Tel. 610.696.1661
More information at
http://www.locallit.com
http://www.ccbmc.com
http://tinyurl.com/9msjepg
I hope as many of you that can come to celebrate this fantastic bookstore and help keep it alive.
A LOCAL BOOKSTORE NEEDS OUR SUPPORT
The only independent bookstore in our area, Chester County Book and Music Company, will soon close. I found this news to be extremely upsetting for I have shopped there now for more than twenty years. Last year they were also kind enough to let me have a book signing at the store.
A local author, Kathye Fetsko Petrie, has organized fellow local authors to attend two nights, October 26 and November 23, to show their support for the bookstore. I will be there on the October date. I would appreciate any of my readers that live in the area also to attend.
I have included the well-done piece by Petrie describing the situation for the bookstore and lists of authors that will be in attendance. You may be surprised at the local talent in the area, especially if you are familiar with children and mystery writers.
Included is a link to Petrie’s piece so that you may check out the authors’ blogs or websites.
•
• BIOGRAPHY
• PUBLICATIONS
• FLYING JACK / CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK
• KATHYE FETSKO PETRIE BLOG
• TWEETS @LOCALLIT
Soon after it was announced that Chester County Book and Music Company (CCBMC) was on a month-to-month lease and planning to close 60 days after the landlord signed a new tenant, I went to see if anything might be done to keep the store open. I was not alone. Distressed customers have been pouring in to the large independent in West Chester, PA, since the news broke late summer, expressing regrets and offering ideas. As a result Kathy Simoneaux, CCBMC’s owner since 1982 (then with her late husband Bob, who died in 2010), is now considering the possibility of relocating from the store’s present 28,000 square foot selling space—“too big for the current bookselling environment” she told Shelf Awareness—to a smaller space. Customers can fill out a questionnairein person or online at http://www.ccbmc.com to help Simoneaux figure out what that hypothetical bookshop might look like.
Across the country, people are brainstorming ways brick-and-mortar bookstores can survive in the digital future, and readers are lamenting what will be lost if they don’t. The words coziness, community, handselling, occur often. All true. But these are generic words. As I wandered CCBMC during several recent visits, I was reminded of what I love most about it, and reminded of what specifically will be lost if and when we lose this specificbookstore:
ALL THESE MAGAZINES: An entire disappearing wall of them–a glorious selection of titles not often carried elsewhere locally.
TRUE SUPPORT OF LOCAL AUTHORS, whether it be via the always-full “Local Talent” bookcase; or by the individual displays highlighting works by local authors; or by being an always willing and enthusiastic host for launch parties and signings by local authors. CCBMC has also always been able to attract and be A VENUE FOR HIGH-PROFILE AUTHORS who otherwise rarely visit the ‘burbs, but rather confine their appearances to cities.
CCBMC is also…
A PLACE FOR SURPRISES: When was the last time you came around a corner of bookstore and saw a full display of books from small publishers such as these brightly colored “Art of the Novella” titles by Melville House—or any display novellas in a bookstore, for that matter? Translated books, books from academic presses, books grouped by category such as “Great Books, Bad Movies,” and other intriguing displays. can be found throughout the store.
In addition you will find…
BOOKISH GIFTS THAT ARE JUST RIGHT, such as the “Sweet How You Are Still Reading Books” magnetic bookmark and the IN MY BOOK® greeting cards that turn into bookmarks and carry sentiments such as In My Book…You’re Novel.
Additionally, CCBMC has…
EMPLOYEES WHO KNOW YOU LOVE TO “EAT SLEEP READ”because they do also. This truth is in evidence everywhere, particularly via a multitude of handpicked STAFF PICKS. Yes, I know you have seen staff picks in other stores before, but probably never so many—and never so many worth your while.
What I always enjoyed at CCBMC for years and what I am especially touched to see every time I go to CCBMC now is something no other store has, namely…
JOE PICKS. These are the selections of the late Joe Drabyak, bookseller-extraordinaire at CCBMC for many years until his death two years ago this past August 27. Drabyak was so brilliant and beloved that his words and selections still live among the shelves, interspersed among the other staff selections.
So what can be done to save CCBM? Possibly nothing, though we all hope something. A show of ongoing interest via people continuing to shop is certainly an excellent action, though no guarantee. Ultimately, the fate of CCBMC will be the hard decision of owner Kathy Simoneaux, who has difficult economic and no doubt personal factors to consider.
In the meantime, I’m thinking a show of gratitude would be just the thing. Those who love the store can go there now, buy books, fill out the questionnaire, perhaps leaving a note saying how much the store has meant to your life—not to sway the outcome, which is out of your hands, but to merely say “thanks you for being here for me all these years,” and “I love you.” Much as you would say to those you love today and every day, while they are alive and healthy and still here.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Plans are underway for two special“AUTHORS SAY THANK YOU TO CCBMC” nights at Chester County Book & Music Company this fall onOctober 26 andNovember 23, from6 to 9 PM. On these dates, area authors will gather to shop, talk, eat at the Magnolia Cafe and mingle with each other and customers to celebrate, say thank you and support this wonderful independent bookstore that has supported local authors and readers for over 30 years. Won’t you join us?
PARTICIPATING AUTHORS as of 10/1/2012
Authors are confirming daily so please check back.
10/26/12
Cordelia France Biddle
Jen Bryant
Nero Blanc
Jim Breslin
Jessica Dimuzio
Merry Jones
Susan Beth Lehman
Lisa Loeb
Susan Marie Kelley
Bruce Mowday
Kathye Fetsko Petrie
Jan Mulligan
Marc Schuster
Kelly Simmons
Gloria Slater
Chris Shaughness
Jerry Spinelli
Eileen Spinelli
Joelle Sterling
Laura Tamakosh
Walt Trizna
Steve Zettler
11/23/12
Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban
Beth Kephart
Stephen Fried
Jonathan McGoran
Karen E. Quinones Miller
Jan Mulligan
Kathye Fetsko Petrie
Chris Shaughness
Lisa Scottoline
Francesca Serritella
Kelly Simmons
K.M. Walton
Here is the link so you can appreciate the full article and checkout the authors.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHEN KING
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
STEPHEN KING
This is actually a belated birthday greeting. King’s birthday was two days ago. He is the same age as me.
I was amused to learn that when his wife, Tabitha, went into labor with their first child, Stephen was at a drive-in watching ‘The Corpse Grinders’.
I think I can top that.
When my wife, Joni, was extremely pregnant, I took her to see the remake of ‘The Fly’. In this version Gena Davis dreams that she gives birth to a huge maggot.
That night Joni went into labor, and the next morning gave birth to our daughter, Annie.
No need for pest strips.
NEIL ARMSTRONG
NEIL ARMSTRONG
I am tardy in acknowledging the passing of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.
Most of us can recall where we were and what we were doing when truly historical events occurred. Unfortunately, most of the events that come under this category are tragic in nature. For example, those of us that are old enough remember the day Kennedy was assassinated. I’ve written about my own memories of that day (see memoir section). The day of the Challenger disaster carries for me another vivid memory. And of course 9/11 leaves a scar in all our memories.
The first time man walked on the moon, however, is a totally different type of memory. It is one of achievement and national pride. To see the first man set foot on the moon created a wonderful global moment.
My personal remembrance of this event is quite vivid. I was in pilot training stationed at Craig AFB in Selma, Alabama. The night of the first moonwalk I went to the base theater to see 2001, A Space Odyssey, one of my favorite movies. After the movie I went to the officers’ quarters and there on the television was Neil Armstrong taking the first steps on the lunar surface. It was a combination of fiction and reality that I will never forget.
A few months later I washed out of pilot training. The little jet we were fly was just too much for me to handle. I was then allowed to choose my next assignment and chose to be a Titan II crew member. It was while I was on a missile crew that I had a chance to see the Apollo program up close.
As a junior office I visited Cape Kennedy, as it was called at that time, and had an extensive tour of the complex. We went inside the vertical assembly building, the building where the Saturn rockets going to the moon were assembled. I found one of the facts about this enormous structure was that it was so large and tall that, if the temperature wasn’t carefully controlled, it could rain inside the building.
Sometime later I had another opportunity to visit the area. I was now a crew commander and my crew did well on an inspection so we, along with other crews, flown to Cape Kennedy to witness the Apollo 17 launch. The launch was scheduled to be at night. My crew arrived at a beach some miles distant from the launch pad. We kept the radio in the rental car on for updates. There were a series of short delays which gave the sand fleas a chance to have their feast. Finally Apollo 17 was launched into space.
The night was illuminated by the mighty rocket as it set off on its journey. We could easily see the rocket stage and followed its course until it was a speck in the night sky. This was to be the last of the Apollo launches and I felt privileged to have a chance to witness the event.
Next stop for the crew, Disney World.
THE CURIOSITY MARS ROVER
THE ULTIMATE ROAD TRIP
GO CURIOSITY
If you are interested in space science at all you are definitely aware of the landing of Curiosity on Mars. For the landing of this rover the artist’s concept appeared like something that might be the cover of a pulp science fiction publication.
AND IT WORKED.
With the platform, with thrusters firing, hovered over the Martian landscape and lowered Curiosity to a soft landing. Imagine that happening in your back yard, a craft coming from another planet.
As I assume you know by now, I write science fiction. My mind immediately engaged in the ‘what if mode.’ As a writer, it is your obligation to also be a reader. I am currently reading a novel, accelerando, by Charles Stross. It is a fantastic read and I encourage all science fiction readers to read it. The author deals with the advancement of post humans and The Singularity. The concepts in this novel are fantastic and I will talk about them in the future.
I also have another book, The Singularity Is Near, by Ray Kurzweil. This is a work of nonfiction and deals with the mating of computer technology and mankind. This is another book which I will discuss in the future.
But now to my ‘what if’ moment. I can imagine Mars covered with cells below the surface, ether one cell deep or millions deep, it doesn’t matter. What if Mars is one massive intelligence? If you read the books I have mentioned, you will gain a concept of post humans and The Singularity. There is the theory of post humans, what if post martians exist?
My mind wanders, to a story, where the entire planet is an intelligence and is waiting for communication.
My readers, I hope this opens an appreciation of science and a desire to read science fiction.
WHEN DID MAN OBTAIN A SOUL?
Not much writing news to report. I’ve got two short stories making the rounds and a novel, The Beast Awaits, which I’m trying to publish. So until something positive happens I’ll share some of my musings. Here’s a light subject for you.
WHEN DID MAN FIRST OBTAIN A SOUL?
I have been thinking of this topic for some time now. At what stage in his evolution did man first possess a soul?
If you do not give the existence of evolution any credence, you can stop reading now. As a scientist I find the evidence in favor of evolution undisputable. So as what was to become modern man journeyed along his evolutionary ladder, when was he given a soul.
To possess a soul should require some higher form of mental activity. To be aware of self, to be able to reason, to be involved in functions that go beyond the rudimentary activities of existence, to be aware of a greater being – all theses factors would seem to be necessary. I am, of course, not a philosopher and would welcome the opinions of others on this topic.
As anyone reading this blog knows, I am now a science fiction writer. Years ago I decided to write a story about Neanderthals. The title was The Superior Species and was published by Aphelion in 2007. I plan to share this story with you on my blog in a day or two. During the course of writing that story I did a great deal of research on their abilities and intelligence. Do you know that the size of their brain was twice that of modern man? They created artwork and probably able to speak, or at least make sounds.
Neanderthals have fascinated me ever since writing that story. I recently learned that they cooked plant food along with their assumed diet of meat. They were also aware of the medicinal properties of the plants they used. It also appears that they cared for their sick and buried their dead.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120718131348.htm
Neanderthals could obviously think. Did they have a soul? They were a dead-end branch in the development of Homo sapiens and we picture them as brutish mimics of ourselves.
But how much did they share with us.
OBSERVATIONS AND OPINIONS
THE INFINITY OF LIFE
To enter the structure of an organ is to enter a world of vasculature and cell types striving to fulfill a function to keep their host alive.
But to enter on of its cells is to enter the journey of the infinite, the soup of life ever at work. Processes occurring at lightning speed not all fully understood.
The end result can be life-giving or fatal.
Such is work of the cell.
Such is the thin thread of our life.
OBSERVATIONS & OPINIONS
OBSERVATIONS & OPINIONS
I’ve decided to combine two of my categories because of was wrong in giving them a separated existence, happens. How can you have an opinion unless you first observe a subject? How can you observe something and your mind remain empty? Here’s the first installment under the new heading.
NEWS
I have always been a news junkie, but for sometime now I have been aware of a growing lack of news reported while the lengths of the broadcasts continue to lengthen. I won’t even get into the constant errors the talking heads of our local new here in Philadelphia make. They sail right along without blinking an eye while I cringe in dismay.
The local stations now manage to pack maybe fifteen minutes worth of new in one hour. The rest of the time is taken up with what the latest celebrities are up to. What the station will be showing for the rest of the night. This exposure reinforces my reasons for not watching television programming. They also must give the weather three times until they finally give a forecast.
As readers of my blog know, I’ve had some medical problems recently. During this experience I had little opportunity to watch the news. I’ve grow distant from the mind-numbing hours I once spent before listening to drivel. If I do watch news it is only the national news.
There are times when I think back to my youth and the news was really the news. I suppose it was back in the fifties when the local news began at 6:30 at night and ran until 6:45, and then the national news took over from 6:45 until 7:00.
While I have, for the most part, abandoned news of TV I still stay in touch with newspapers and news magazines. I still want to know what’s going on but I’m trying to be a bit more selective.
With my ever growing new attitude toward the new, I’m reminded of a song from Simon and Garfunkel’s album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, one of my all-time favorite albums.
The song’s title, ‘The Only Living Boy in New York’. The line from the song that I find most appropriate for my new state of mind is, ‘I can gather all the news from the weather report’. I think that says it all.
WALT’S OBSERVATIONS
WALT’S OBSERVATIONS
ON
RETIREMENT
This piece is meant for those poor souls that are compelled to write.
As reported recently on my blog, my wife, Joni, and I went on a cruise last January. The experience, much to my surprise, was most enjoyable. At my age, it is wonderful to have all your needs met, even some you didn’t know existed (all legal of course). However, this reflection is more about the people I encountered and my thoughts, contrasting my mindset and that of those wonderful people at a similar stage in our lives.
Joni and I joined a large group while taking the cruise, including my sister, Shirley and her husband Matt. They now live in South Carolina in an over 55 retirement community and were joined by about eight or nine other couples from the same community. I had the opportunity to talk to most of them and those feelings generated are the source of this article.
All retired, the exuded the joy of life. They had all worked hard and now it was time to enjoy the fruits of their labor. In the many conversations I shared with them, I came to appreciate the image of retirement, having time to relish the simple things that life now offered whether it be gardening, walking or spending time with grandchildren.
As I listened to them I reflected on my life. I have always been one to pursue a goal and that drive offers no peace. I envy those who, in retirement, can put aside their past efforts and enjoy their twilight years.
I am reminded of the legend of Sisyphus, doomed to role a stone up a hill only to have it fall down the opposite side where he must again begin his effort. There is no end to his toil.
Those retirees I encountered have defied Sisyphus, for the most part. Some still work part-time, victims of the current economy. But for the most part, they have rolled the stone of their careers to the summit and now enjoy the gentle coast downward in retirement. They have reached the point where the repetition of failure no longer exists. They are at peace with their life and the world.
But for us writers, the scenario is different. I am one of your legions and share the Sisyphus of the written word with you. You and I will never retire. For to retire to us would mean we have ceased to think, to imagine. We roll the rock of our creation up a slippery slope only to have, for many of us, have it roll down in rejection and lack of appreciation. We are compelled to continue this effort to the end.
Fellow writers, these are my observations. God help us all.
WALT’S OBSERVATIONS
WALT’S OBSERVATIONS
ON THE WEATHER
TORNADOES
I cannot comprehend the destruction tornadoes have brought to this country the last few days.
I have spent years in the Midwest, attending college in Oklahoma and stationed, during my air force experience, in Wichita. While in Wichita I was once close to a tornado but never witnessed it. It was on a spring afternoon and the sky filled with storm clouds. They grew denser and the bottom edges were edged in green. While out looking at the sky, the wind howled and then stopped. The temperature dropped, the wind returned, this time accompanied by huge hailstones. Miles away a tornado was reported.
The only place I witnessed a tornado, and I saw a few, was while living in Miami, Florida. From the lab window where I worked, I had a clear view of the ocean and twice observed water spouts. And then one Saturday afternoon I was fishing with friends in the Everglades when a line of storms approached from the north. We decided to return to Miami, and as we were driving, I could see a delicate black finger, in the distance, descend from the clouds. That was the only land tornado I witnessed and never did reach the ground before dissolving back into the clouds.
But in the last few days communities in the west and south have witnessed the destruction of this force first-hand, and many did not live to tell the tale. We have all seen the images, but I feel that unless you see the massive amount of destruction first-hand, you have no appreciation of the force of a tornado, and are truly unable to comprehend to impact on the communities involved.
How do you prepare for the destructive force of a tornado?
As a snow storm approaches, as we are accustomed to here in the east, you have days to prepare. There is the traditional raid on grocery stores for eggs, bread and milk. (Perhaps in some future piece I will discuss why I think we do this.) Then there are the camera crews stalking the hardware stores as people rush to buy snow shovels and salt. Just as an aside, one newscaster comment, “How many shovels do people need?” For with the approach of every snow storm, snow shovels sell out.
We have the same advanced warning in the case of hurricanes. The vastness of the impact cannot be fully predicted, as with Katrina, you know for days that a storm is approaching. Sometimes, however, human error adds to the magnitude of the loss, take Katrina for example. With the approach of a hurricane, the news is full of people boarding up window and leaving town, at least those that can.
But what do you do when a tornado outbreak is predicted? With today’s technology, we have warning, perhaps a day in advance, that tornados my appear over a vast area. Not until these vast machines of destruction are truly set into motion does one truly know where the danger exits. There is no way to protect your house and belongings. It is useless for the destructive forces are so haphazard.
Do you run?
You may be leaving a safe haven only to enter death’s door. You can only wait, take what cover you can, while this traveling fiend does its devil’s dance across the landscape, sparing one home and destroying the house next door.
I know all our hearts go out to those having experienced the recent mayhem. Wish them well in their recovery. Time will heal the landscape and erase the physical carnage. Hopefully, time will eventually soften the loss and experience of those affected.
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