Portrait of the Artist as a Young Boy.
This picture was taken for Christmas, 1949. We really used candles back then!
Long Island, New York, in the early 1950's, was a great place to grow up. Our neighborhood was populated with kids, and nearby were fields, marshes, forests, and lakes. Everything a little boy could dream of. Best of all, the Great South Bay, on the south shore of the island, provided hours of boating, swimming and fishing.
Childhood was different then. When parents said, "Go out and play," they meant it. You could be gone all day, provided you checked in for lunch, and your mother knew where you were. Entertainment was playing with your friends - hours of tromping through the woods, building forts, playing tag, or just plain watching the clouds go by.
Only chores and piano lessons spoiled the fun. The dreaded words, "Go weed the garden," were worse than a death sentence. And, it seemed, any time the gang organized a ball game, I had to practice piano.
My world was also filled with family. Both of my parents were the seventh of eight children. For me, that meant eleven uncles and ten aunts and, better yet, a load of cousins. Family parties, and there were many, were major events, and play, at all ages, was the theme.
Somehow, childhood flew by. I graduated from West Islip High School, 1964, and like most of my friends, went off to college. It was an exciting prospect.
State University at Potsdam, in Northern New York, was a great school. The winters were cold, the girls were all beautiful, and I managed to get two degrees - Biology and English. Senior year, I met my future wife: Barbara Bocskor. A year behind me, she was smart and attractive. I stayed on one more year to get an English degree. During that year, we were married. Our first child, Michael, was born the summer we graduated, 1969.
Teaching was a great profession and, after thirty-three years in education, I retired as an Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum. It was an exciting, fulfilling career. Barbara retired that same year - she was a Librarian's Assistant - and we moved from Long Island to Clayton, N.Y., on the St. Lawrence River - the heart of the Thousand Islands! It's where we still live.
Our four children - Michael, Julianne, Steven and Kathryn - have children of their own. Our nine grandchildren keep us busy, happy and young.
This picture was taken for Christmas, 1949. We really used candles back then!
Long Island, New York, in the early 1950's, was a great place to grow up. Our neighborhood was populated with kids, and nearby were fields, marshes, forests, and lakes. Everything a little boy could dream of. Best of all, the Great South Bay, on the south shore of the island, provided hours of boating, swimming and fishing.
Childhood was different then. When parents said, "Go out and play," they meant it. You could be gone all day, provided you checked in for lunch, and your mother knew where you were. Entertainment was playing with your friends - hours of tromping through the woods, building forts, playing tag, or just plain watching the clouds go by.
Only chores and piano lessons spoiled the fun. The dreaded words, "Go weed the garden," were worse than a death sentence. And, it seemed, any time the gang organized a ball game, I had to practice piano.
My world was also filled with family. Both of my parents were the seventh of eight children. For me, that meant eleven uncles and ten aunts and, better yet, a load of cousins. Family parties, and there were many, were major events, and play, at all ages, was the theme.
Somehow, childhood flew by. I graduated from West Islip High School, 1964, and like most of my friends, went off to college. It was an exciting prospect.
State University at Potsdam, in Northern New York, was a great school. The winters were cold, the girls were all beautiful, and I managed to get two degrees - Biology and English. Senior year, I met my future wife: Barbara Bocskor. A year behind me, she was smart and attractive. I stayed on one more year to get an English degree. During that year, we were married. Our first child, Michael, was born the summer we graduated, 1969.
Teaching was a great profession and, after thirty-three years in education, I retired as an Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum. It was an exciting, fulfilling career. Barbara retired that same year - she was a Librarian's Assistant - and we moved from Long Island to Clayton, N.Y., on the St. Lawrence River - the heart of the Thousand Islands! It's where we still live.
Our four children - Michael, Julianne, Steven and Kathryn - have children of their own. Our nine grandchildren keep us busy, happy and young.
Retirement is a good place to be. In the last two years, I've completed twenty-one children's stories. The first children's story, Bear In The Basket, is published and available on Amazon.com. Bear In The Bathtub, The Naughty Little Mouse, Tornado Tom And His Terrific Trike and I Want A Pet are also available on Amazon.com. My latest publication, The Thanksgiving Prize, will be available in October, 2017.
Curiosity, and wonder at the world around me, inspire my stories. They all draw from my memories - happy ones, to be sure.
Curiosity, and wonder at the world around me, inspire my stories. They all draw from my memories - happy ones, to be sure.
