The Writer's Life 11/28 - Young & Old

Yesterday I drove my sister and two nieces out to the house of another of my nieces in Jersey. I looked forward to it more than usual because my great nephew, Ronnie, was in from the University of Kentucky, where he is a freshman who will eventually major either in pre-med or pharmaceuticals. He loves it. He has attended SEC football and basketball games, and occasionally plays guitar for meals in the area. I teased him briefly about the co-ed situation. He puts in 16 hours a week studying biology alone. He’s doing a lot of research on cows. He is sporting a full beard that makes him look more like a philosophy major. His sister, Danielle, a high school junior, is involved in mock trials, with an eye to a career in law. Her friend Nikki joined us for dinner. She has signed up for the Marines, and everyone at the table wished her well. She seems powerfully built and more like a Brooklyn girl than one who grew up in south Jersey. We were also joined by Kerry and Robin, who have six dogs. I don’t know how they do it. I can’t imagine caring for even one. They are good people and I always look forward to seeing them. I didn't overeat, and I had only a mini connoli and sliver of apple pie, topped with vanilla ice cream, for dessert. I stepped away from the table to keep myself from the temptation of more. It was a great day, and the drive home was as smooth as can be. I remembered to stay out of the right lane, NYC bound, of the Staten Island Expressway.

RIP PD James, 94, the “Queen of Crime,” author of 19 novels that intellectualized the genre. I read only Innocent Blood, published in 1980, and found it difficult. Perhaps it is time to give it another shot. James' work, translated into many languages, sold ten million copies. She received many awards and honorariums. 15 adaptations of her books have made it to the small and big screen. One of her characters, Adam Dagliesh, was a staple of productions that appeared on PBS. In her profile at Wiki she is quoted as thinking of Humpty Dumpty as a child: “Was he pushed?“ Well done, madam.


I just heard that former Baltimore Ravens RB Ray Rice has won his appeal and is free to sign with any team. Prediction: it will be the Patriots.

As I was on the home stretch of my morning walk, I came upon a line of about 25 young women waiting for a local boutique to open on Sheepshead Bay Road. It was about six-thirty. There must have been really good deals promised to get them out of bed so early on a school holiday. I had my own Black Friday deal at the floating book shop. I recently found a 40-piece ratchet set gathering dust in the basement. I planned to sell it for $20. Since it was so cold, I wanted to make sure the effort paid off, so I offered it for ten bucks. My thanks to the young man who bought it, and to the two gentlemen who purchased books.

Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/rP7o9

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/