I received my proof copy of Vol. IV of "Pater Noster". It looks very nice, especially with the cover my grandson, Adam, supplied me. Now I have four books of blog posts being sold in My Llu Store and on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble and also in England, in Germany, and in Japan. Possibly in many other countries. Of course, my books can only be sold on the Internet. If I wanted the books to be sold in stores, I would have to get an agent and a publisher to read and approve it, and that would be a hassle. This way everything is done through the Internet, and the books are just as available as in a book store. Lulu is my publisher and it doesn't cost me a dime to have a book published or to be advertised on bookstore websites. Thus far I have written 1071 pages in the four books that have been published...I've amazed myself. Just take a look at "Book Finder 4U"to the right of this blog. Clicking any one of the titles will take you to where the book is sold.
Yesterday was my 85th birthday, which also amazes me. It feels kind of weird being 85. Growing up I thought 60 was old, now I think 70 is young. It's very confusing. But to carry on this monologue, Rhoda made a party for me at Villa d'Italia and invited 19 other people.
The guest list included friends from East Meadow whom I've known for over 50 years, and several couples from our building. The bill came to $76 a couple. Not too bad. Maybe a little too much for this economy. The guests knew it was dutch treat and we didn't know what our friends could afford; but no one opted out. I got many birthday cards from friends who couldn't make the party. And believe it or not, I heard from every child and grandchild! More amazings.
I will share with you a few of the comments I received: The following one was from the frequent commentator to the Red Baron, Mr. Phil Bergovoy--former colleague. It accompanied a bowl of flowers and a box of cholcolates: "Happy 85th on your way to 100+. We praise the good you have done for this world. You are beloved by everyone who is sensitive to greatness. That includes us. With much affection. Phil and Hindy. Well, perhaps this is a wee bit hyperbolic. It made me a little bit teary eyed. Now I've returned the compliment by dedicating Vol.IV of "Paternoster" to Phil. I will send him a copy of the book shortly.
Yesterday, I also finished the last session of my class where we were reading and enjoying the play of all plays, the Taj Mahal of plays--"Hamlet" I had 14 women and one guy in the class. I had to play Hamlet most of the time, and the one guy had to be the King and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. I had plenty of women for Gertrude and Ophelia. It took eight sessions to finish the play--partly my fault. I usually interrupted the readings by telling the class some good jokes that I received on the internet. I also took some time by acquainting them with Mythology and Philosophy. Although I do enjoy teaching, I no longer have the energy for what it takes with my style. Consequently, and unfortunately I cannot teach any more classes.
The other day I received a CD from Wally "Buster" Kaufman who graduated with the last graduating class at Sea Cliff H.S. in 1957. It was the following year that North Shore H.S. opened. I did teach for a couple of years in Sea Cliff. The CD that Wally sent was a book length history of his class. On this CD he brought back memories of many, many students in the 1957 class. I would like to thank Wally for this CD, but unfortunately I cannot find his e-mail address. If there is anyone out there who can help me--bless you!
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