I'll be in Hyannis this Friday, July 9th at the Cape Code Writers Conference Breakfast with the Authors. The event will be at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis starting at 9:30AM. Authors Spencer Quinn and Lynn Kiele Bonasia will be there with me. Please come if you're in the area. Click here for all the details
Two MA Events: Duxbury on 11/29 and Lexington on 12/1
11/29 Sunday - I'll be at the Duxbury Free Library in Duxbury, MA from 2 to 4 PM for a reading & signing. You can get more information about the library here and about the event here.
12/1 Tuesday - I'll be at the Cary Memorial Library in Lexington, MA from 7 to 9 PM for a reading & signing. YOu can get more information about the library here.
Both events are free to the public. I look forward to seeing everyone.
MA Events - Cohasset (Nov. 10th) and Manchester-by-the-Sea (Nov. 12th)
Two Massachusetts events this week - one on the South Shore and another on the North Shore.
I'll be in Cohasset, MA at the Buttonwoods Books Coffee with the Authors event on Tuesday, Nov. 10th. The event starts at 9:45 AM and will be held at the Atlantis Restaurant. There is ticket price and you can get all of the details here.
Then on Thursday, Nov. 12th, I'll be at the Manchester-by-the-Sea Library. This event is free and starts at 6:30 PM. You can get information about the library here.
If you're in either are, please stop by. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone.
On Veteran's Day
My father, Jack Barry, enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 18 and served in Patton’s army during World War II. He told some very entertaining stories about the day to day escapades of military life which sounded like a cross between the old Sgt. Bilko series of the 1950’s and an episode of MASH. But like most veterans of his era, there were some things in his experience that he was extremely reluctant to discuss. When pressed, he would simply quote General Sherman’s address to the 1879 graduating class of Michigan Military Academy: "War is hell!"
In the service, my father met my uncle, Morkie, who became his best friend for life. On their first day back in Massachusetts, Morkie introduced my father to his sister, June, whom Dad married a few years later. Two years after that, I was born, then my brother, Mark. My father once told me that, when the war ended, what he wanted most in the world was to come home to the small town where his family had lived for generations, to work and raise his own family there. If the war had done one thing for him, he said, it was to make him understand what it was he really wanted.
So today is Nov. 11, Veteran’s Day. It was on this day (11/11) in 1918 at 11 AM that World War I (“The War to end all wars”) ended. In honor of my father and all veterans who have served our country, I wish them the peace in body, mind, and spirit that they have sacrificially earned and so richly deserve.
Brunonia
P.S. For the historical context of the phrase "War is hell!", go here.
Massachusetts Book Signings Today and Tomorrow
Tonight and tomorrow night are my last scheduled public book signings in Massachusetts for 2008. We had a wonderful event at the Borders in Peabody last night. It was a large crowd and almost everyone had read the book so it quickly turned into a lively book club meeting where we could discuss everything about "The Lace Reader. If you'd like to join the conversation, please stop by one of the events listed below.
Happy Halloween!
10/29 SALEM, MA/Cornerstone Books/Halloween Event 7pm
10/30 GLOUCESTER, MA/Bookstore of Gloucester/Speaking & Signing 7pm