Golden Oldies . . .

Marian Babson is an American woman, who has lived and written in England for a good many years, now. Her books are wonderful, witty generally cozy mysteries. Six of them are Trixie and Evangeline books which follow this recipe for a successful series of cozy mysteries:

Take two aging actresses—preferably opposite types,
Add in search for new (or old) play that has a good role for each of them
When these first ingredients have been thoroughly mixed,
Add search for appropriate venue, preferably with a few flights of stairs.
Special added ingredient? Producer with lotsa $$$ or £££!

Then, get out of the way and let the ladies have at it! This pair must have been hell on wheels in their younger years; they’re still up to the most hair-raising activities!

In the golden years of movies (never quite specified, but apparently the 30s and 40s) Trixie Dolan was a song-and-dance type actress, while Evangeline Sinclair was the more dramatic, femme-fatale type.

Years later—incredibly!—they’re still friends with a shared family of sorts, and not yet ready to pack it in. They are still stage-struck, with a large contingent of fans, friends from those maybe not-so-good-old-days, and quite possibly some non-friends, as well.

Trixie had married, once, briefly, but Evangeline preferred to play the field. In her case, the field included Trixie’s husband, and the resulting daughter was then raised by Trixie. Martha is actually an adult before she learns the truth, which seems to settle her down some. It’s hard to imagine one child with two stage mothers, but that’s Martha’s lot in life. At least, in the course of these books, she finds a man, Hugh, who adores her, and since he has two children, they are now a complete family. He also had a wife, but . . . read book two for the whole story.

The first book is Reel Murder, in which Trixie at 68 and Evangeline at 76, journey to London for a two-week retrospective of Evangeline’s films. They’re housed in a remodeled mansion with a troupe of aspiring young actors. Drawing on their vast experience in films, the two ladies instruct their fellow tenants about how to dispose of the inevitable corpse, while dealing with the enchanted (and enchanting) young police sergeant Julian Singer. He wants to write a play or maybe a book about Evangeline’s life, and they find him very useful.

Encore Murder features a gang of actors and tech folks from an early TV series who could use the residuals from a reissue of their series, but they’re balked by one of their own. Of course, she suddenly ends up murdered. Also, of course, it’s Hugh’s ex-wife, so Martha promptly becomes a suspect, as does Trixie. It seems the dead woman is also behind the new film of Evangeline’s – Queen Leah! As they’re still living in the converted mansion spread over three floors, with all the young theatricals upstairs, at times this book greatly resembles a bedroom farce. Doors opening and closing, who’s behind which door and with whom? Rooms are always occupied, so a space in which to have a private chat is at a premium. It’s pure delight!

Although I liked all six books a lot, #3,  Shadows in Their Blood was the weakest, in my opinion. It has lots of fun bits but isn’t overly suspenseful, although, as usual, I didn’t guess whodunit! I’m not up on vampires very much, so I think a lot of that aspect went right over my head. It’s still fun, though, especially with all the pastiches of old movies scattered throughout.

The two ladies are on location at an old haunted castle for a remake of the Dracula story. Rumors (are they, or aren’t they – vampires!) are as prevalent as raindrops, and they wonder if they’ll ever be warm again. Some of the characters from previous stories are here, too. Eventually it all gets sorted out.

Even Yuppies Die, as our ladies discover when they’re moved to warehouse flat, while their former abode is being renovated – again! Trixie and Evangline are in a large penthouse with odd acoustics, and even odder other tenants. One of them has most likely committed murder, but which one?

This tale, from 1996, also features an engaging supporting cast, along with Evangeline’s favorite policeman Superintendant Heyhoe. The spoonerish variations on the two syllables of his last name that Evangeline comes up with are incredible! Few of the characters from the previous books are found here: Martha, her new hubby and the two kids are on their honeymoon, but due back soon. The bigger mystery here is why do all the yuppies keep bringing furniture and other essentials to the penthouse? And leaving them there?

Break a Leg, Darlings followed in 1997. All I can say is: This pair must have been hell on wheels in their younger years; as they’re still up to the most hair-raising activities! They’ve not yet found a theater in which to hold their presumed production. There’s really only one satisfactory play going for a pair of older ladies and that’s ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’. (Hint to new (or old) playwrights! How about some more of these, for the rest of us!) The newest thing in London appears to be the ‘pub theater’ concept: pub on the ground floor, theater up. But oh! Those stairs. Hard on aging knees, don’t you know!

You’ll love Dorsal Finn (the Irish poet and playwright) and his wolfhound The Semtex who follows Trixie home after they visit Finn’s pub. He does come in handy at times, if for no other reason than his size.

The Cat Who Wasn’t a Dog is apparently–and unhappily–the last of the series. Boo-hoo! Another aging actress has usurped their play and found a theater, besides! Of course, it’s in Brighton, but that’s only a couple of hours from London. Dame Cecile Savoy (of the same vintage as Trixie and Evangeline) is beside herself, as her favorite doggie pet has died. However, there’s a taxidermist shop in Brighton that will enable the poor creature to remain a member of the family.

Before they can get there, however, a fire breaks out, and from there on, it’s madcap mayhem! Martha is back, still dithery, but now in the process of editing a celebrity type cookbook. Thank goodness for Superintendant Heyhoe, who finally makes sense out of their muddle, and takes the killer off to jail.

All of the books contain many references to slightly-disguised old movies and movie stars, plus lines of famous dialogue, in this madcap comedy-adventure-mystery series. They don’t wear out and will keep you laughing for days. Unfortunately, they’re mostly out of print, but are readily available in libraries.

Marian Babson has also written many books in which cats are featured most prominently! Even though I’m not exactly a cat person, I think my favorite of these is Nine Lives to Murder. What’s yours?

Until next time . . .

If you have comments or questions, please write to me at: kellyATtheserniorreader.com      Please be advised that if you send me spam, it will immediately be forwarded to the government’s spam-catcher!

Oh, this new-fangled technology!

A lot of older persons are accused of avoiding the many varieties of new technologies. I suppose to some extent that’s true. A lot of us, however, are reasonably conversant with all this geek stuff. And then there are those few shining examples who not only speak to it, but rush to greet all the new advances with open arms.

Such a one is Peter E. Abresch, now resident close to the Chesapeake Bay region of the Maryland shore, with his wife of a good many years, Annemarie. After a career with the government during which he learned about computers, Peter turned to writing fiction after his retirement in 1991. Because he and Annemarie liked to attend Elderhostels™, he decided to use that as a setting for what became his Elderhostel Mysteries. If you’ve not yet read any of them, I will highly recommend them. Bloody Bonsai introduces us to Jim Dandy (James P., to be formal) a fairly-recent widower who finds himself at loose ends. His kids talk him into attending an Elderhostel™  Course on Bonsai, little realizing what they’ve started! He finds an attractive, unattached artist who owns her own gallery, and in addition to her artistic skills has a huge curiosity bump. Dodee Swisher leads, Jim follows and finally, they manage to identify the murderer without getting either of them killed in the process.

The problem here is that he’s on the east coast, she’s in the midwest, but phone calls and letters persuade them to try again (this was in the days before e-mail) so the next summer, off they go to Baltimore and a cooking school. Library Journal categorized Killing Thyme as “An entertaining blend of cooking tidbits, Baltimore surrounds, fascinating workshop participants, and persistent hanky-panky on the sidelines.” Well!

Their next adventure Tip a Canoe finds the two at a birdwatching/nature study Elderhostel™  on South Carolina’s Santee Lakes. The following year, however, finds them on the other side of the USA and the Santa Fe Trail in Painted Lady. This one veers into the supernatural a bit, as Dodee’s paintings seem to carry the image of a woman who fell from the hotel rooftop before their trip actually started. There is also a novella – Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing.

Unhappily, because of the crunch in the publishing world, at this point, Peter lost his publisher. But writers don’t usually give up when that happens – they’re optimistic creatures, and continue writing, regardless. He was encouraged by notes from fans asking “where’s the next book in the series?” So last fall, he took it upon himself to publish the next one — Name Games through CreateSpace, a subsidiary of Amazon.com.

In this one, Peter indulges his fondness for puns and word games by the names he assigns to the characters, other than Jim and Dodee, that is. The adventure nearly does them in, as they go white-water rafting and hiking through the woods. He thought it would be safe–who ever heard of a drive-by shooting from a rubber raft?

In addition to these five novels, Peter has two other novels in print through CreateSpace: Capital Coven and If They Ask For A Hand, Only Give Them A Finger, both of which deal with spies and so forth in the Washington DC area. There is also one non-fiction guide book: Easy Reading Writing: Easy Reading about Writing Easy Reading.

Well, I hear you say, a lot of people do self-publishing these days, and that’s very true. It’s easier than ever with the POD (print on demand) process which keeps millions of trees still standing instead of being converted into books that are all-too-soon converted to fodder for landfills. But Peter has gone one better, embracing the new technologies of pod-casting and creating audio books on CD, all by his own self. Mostly.

Every now and then one of his books has too many characters in it for him to do all the different voices, so he ropes a friend or two into a few sessions with the digital recorder, splices it all together in the computer and bingo! Book on CDs for easy listening.

Coven, being slightly longer is on 8 CDs, while Finger is on 6. Full information and details are available through his web-site: www.sidewalkbooks.com He’s also allowed Amazon to convert the print books to e-books for its Kindle reader. And there are a couple of books available for free downloads at podiobooks.com Be advised that donations are accepted at that site, and the author does receive a fair share.

And if you like poetry, you might like to receive one of his spiritual type poems which he sends out every Monday. Send an e-mail to Peter at Sidewalkbooks.com and put ‘Burnt Offerings’ in the subject line. If you’d rather have a weekly newsletter about writing fiction, put ‘BookMarc’ in the subject line.

We should all be so into new things—for fun, he’s learning to play a 5-string banjo!—and active as we gently ‘mellow into fine wine.’ His most recent birthday was his 78th! Way to go, Peter!

= ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ =

Oops! I almost forgot to mention this! My publisher, Cerriedwen Press has instituted a ‘free reads’ program titled Scintillating Samples! One of my short stories was chosen for this program and you may download it here — for free! How’s that for a bargain? The story is Song of the Swan.  (All the stories have the same cover, so you’re not seeing things! ) I hope you enjoy it.    Kelly

http://www.jasminejade.com/pm-7105-383-song-of-the-swan.aspx

(You may have to cut and paste that link, as I can’t seem to figure out how to make it a hot-link. Sorry!)

= ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ = ~ =

As always, if you have comments or questions, you may use the space provided below or write to me directly at: kelly at theseniorreader.com           No spam, please! Consider this your advisory notice that that if you send spam, it will be automatically forwarded to the US government and your ISP.

Looks like me/us . . . ?

We hear a lot about wanting to read (or watch) stories with characters who ‘look like me’. In many ways, this is a very good thing. It’s led to an expansion of the publishing industry, with lines devoted to readers whose skin-color or ethnic persuasion is perhaps different from the one you look at in your mirror every day. Nothing wrong with that!

Cozy mysteries shed light on a wide variety of ventures. Detectives or ‘sleuths’ are no longer strictly policemen or private eyes. No, they can be a proprietor of a bed and breakfast or weekly newspaper (Mary Daheim for both of them); a glass blower (Sarah Atwell), writer/producer of a soap opera (Linda Palmer), ghostwriter (Noreen Wald), pet sitters (Linda O. Johnston and Blaize Clement), knitting, needlecrafts (Monica Ferris, Maggie Sefton, Mary Kruger), TV chef (Melinda Wells), medieval acting troupe (Margaret Frazer) and the ubiquitous Tim Myers who writes three separate and unconnected series: cozies wrapped around a bed and breakfast, candle-making and soap-making.

A good many of these authors and/or protagonists are close to my/our age bracket, I think.

There are lots more, of course, but these are authors whom I’ve read and enjoyed. So far. I’ve learned a good many things from reading these books, but I have no aspirations to be any of these craftspersons—except for possibly the ghostwriter. Well, I guess I’ve also been a participant in various varieties of needlework – especially knitting and needlepoint. Of course, most of these authors are women, so they write wonderfully well about a woman’s viewpoint of the world and her more immediate neighborhood. Oh! Come to think of it, I learned how to make my own soap thanks to Tim Myers. My favorite scent is jasmine, which has apparently suddenly become an orphan as far as the commercial soap-makers are concerned. So I took him at his word, that it was easy to make soap, and by golly, it is! I love my soap. Except now I need to order more supplies.

Romance novels also have many categories, from sweet (barely more than a kiss at the end) to anything goes, and I mean that quite literally. In fact, I think romance was the first to really diversify, with imprints directed at (but truly readable by anyone) African-Americans, Latinas and Asians. Of course, there were writers of these ethnic backgrounds who also wrote mass-market romance novels and did quite well with them.

I’ve heard more than one argument about the value of or deep contrast between romance novels vs. the techno-thriller variety of novel. Among the points made: romance novels are very moral, and are deeply involved with emotions and caring, loving relationships, whereas techno-thrillers frequently display brutality and weapons that kill or maim other humans—the opposite of caring or loving. Of course, the point was also made that women do romance, men do techno-thrillers. And we all know that Men are from Mars; Women are from Venus.

So, where am I going with this? Lately, it seems as though every week there’s a new novel published about a ‘serial killer’. Hmmm. And almost every day there’s a newspaper article about a multiple killing somewhere, and it seems women have achieved equality in the killing department, possibly even more so than the boardroom. I’ve never been fond of horror stories –whether book or film– so I’m certainly not at all qualified to judge any of them. Quite honestly, I’m quite certain I’ve never read a book in this genre and I know I’ve not seen any such movies either, other than those of Alfred Hitchcock, and I don’t think his movies were really horror. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I think they shouldn’t be out there, it’s more that I’m not too sure of their value. Given the preponderance—and apparent popularity—of them in our current times, however, I have to wonder what that says about our population at large.

As always, you may leave a comment or write to me directly at: KellyATtheseniorreader.com      (no spam, please!)

The Jane Austen Industry

Happy Valentine’s Day!

In honor of arguably the best female writer, ever – Jane Austen, and without question, the best love story ever – that of Mr. Darcy and his Lizzie – we take a look at The Jane Austen Industry!

(Okay. Anyone out there who doesn’t like Jane Austen may now be excused from the room.)

It’s so unfortunate that she was unable to write more books, but under the circumstances in which she wrote, we should just be immensely grateful that she was able to produce the masterpieces with which she gifted the world. I’m sure she would have had a difficult time understanding the cottage industry that has arisen around her stories and the characters she created: good, bad, or indifferent. It’s so much fun to seriously dislike Mr. Wickham or Mr. Willoughby or Mr. Crawford. (boo! hiss!) Or, maybe you drool over Mr. Darcy or Colonel Brandon, especially as they were so dashingly brought to life by Colin Firth and Alan Rickman, respectively.

Actually, we should probably credit Mr. Firth with propagating the Jane Austen Industry – he single-handedly brought the UK to its knees during the six-week broadcast of Pride & Prejudice in 1995. For sure, the A&E/BBC film was epic, to say the very least. It is, perhaps, the most glorious reproduction on film of any literary masterpiece, ever, with only the BBCs Brideshead Revisited of the early 1980s coming even close. In my humble opinion, that is.

However, Brideshead didn’t generate the proliferation of sequels to an already mostly-complete story that P&P did. There are literally hundreds of books currently available (or that soon will be) drawing on the beloved Jane’s characters for inspiration. They range from continuations of the Darcy’s story, to cousins or cousins, twice-removed, perhaps. There are straightforward fiction, romantic fiction (of varying sensuality levels) and mysteries, both contemporary to Ms. Austen’s time and our own.

Jane Austen is commonly credited with having given birth to the Regency Romance. However, she wrote contemporary novels, not historical. But that’s a minor quibble, and after all, it was Georgette Heyer who took the whole notion to a still higher level with her marvelous books. (But that’s an entry for another occasion.) Today, we’re all about Miss Jane—and her literary descendants.

The Making of Pride and Prejudice by Susie Conklin and Sue Birtwistle is the perfect companion to the 6 hour film version. In fact, it’s part of a lovely boxed set of three DVDs and book. You could read my review of the book http://www.amazon.com/Making-Pride-Prejudice-BBC/dp/014025157X/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1 here, if you’re so inclined. (It was the third review at this page last I looked.)

Let’s start with mystery. Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor: Being the First Jane Austen Mystery by Stephanie Barron burst upon the world on April 1, 1996. It was no joke, either, capturing high praise for the wit and meticulousness of the writing, the plotting, the language–everything. It was the footnotes which truly captivated me. Now, there are nine books in the series. (Jane and the … Man of the Cloth; Wandering Eye; Genius of the Place; Stillroom Maid; Prisoner of Wool House; Ghosts of Netley; His Lordship’s Legacy and Barque of Frailty.)

In these pages, you’ll meet Jane, her sister Cassandra, her Mother, and several dashing gentlemen, one of whom is quite definitely Jane’s cup of tea.

Another dandy mystery series is by Carrie Bebris, and to date, there are four titles, each of which quite cleverly takes off from one of the originals: Suspense and Sensibility; North by Northanger; Pride and Prescience and The Matters at Mansfield: Or, The Crawford Affair. Mr. and Mrs. Darcy are the Nick and Nora type sleuths, aided by her sisters, sometimes, and/or hindered by her mother. I think a good many of the other Austen characters wander in and out of these pages, whether their own story or not. They also have a good bit of humor. I found them delightful!

The first truly great series of Regency mysteries, however, were the four by the late Kate Ross. These were superbly done and researched, true to the period, and with a believable crime but clever solution. Julian Kestrel was the hero in Cut to the Quick; A Broken Vessel; Whom the Gods Love and The Devil in Music. The premature death of Ms. Ross was indeed a great loss.

Another series that tends to look at the darker side of the Regency era features a very sympathetic wounded warrior as hero. Ashley Gardner bathes her stories in a realistic Regency atmosphere while her hero suffers the torments of the damned as well as unrequited love. But still he puts his intelligence to work by meticulously working out the mysteries in these well-crafted and enjoyable books. The Hanover Square Affair was followed by: A Regimental Murder, The Glass House, The Sudbury School Murders, A Body in Berkeley Square and A Covent Garden Mystery.

For a slightly different take on the Regency era, look for Death on a Silver Tray; The Tainted Snuff Box; The Bloodied Cravat and Murder In The Pleasure Gardens. Rosemary Stevens won an Agatha Award and the Romantic Times Award for Best First Mystery for the first of these mysteries featuring Beau Brummell as the sleuth, along with the very first Siamese cat in England – Chakri – a gift from a Eastern potentate. They are witty as well as historically accurate, and are guaranteed to make you laugh!

A contemporary series that really has little connection to our Jane, other than a similarity of name is by Laura Levine. The female sleuth is a writer, Jaine Austen by name, and the books are very contemporary. Fun, though.

As to the romance side of things—we could spend a day here, and probably not get to them all, but you can make a good start on things by looking for The Darcy Sequels Series. http://www.sourcebooks.com/products/list-all-products/darcy-series.html” I can’t always get this site to cooperate, but you may have better luck. This publisher also reissues older books by Joan Aiken Hodge and will soon have perhaps the best sequel of all, Pemberley Shades by D. A. Bonavia-Hunt.

And finally, (for this time around) a very successful series in Australia is making its way to our shores. Rebecca Ann Collins has written ten sequels to Pride and Prejudice, moving a generation or two forward from the early 1800s. I confess I’ve not yet read any of these – but will try for them very soon. They sound very intriguing to me.

Before you head on, may I invite you to take a peek at my newest venture? I am thrilled by this beginning, http://shopping.geniocity.com/Functional.html and have plans for expansion very soon!

Fast cars —

If you grew up in the late 50s and 60s, you must have been aware of hot-rods, and/or sporty cars. The former were mostly made from USmade automobiles, while the latter were those exotic little things that went like blazes and came from Europe, somewhere. Every nation had its own prestigious marque, some more than one. It was a wondrous time to be alive and reasonably young.

Thanks to my Dad, I was always interested in motor-driven machinery. Some of my earliest memories are of him taking me to motorcycle races (during the last days of WWII) and after the war ended, there were midget cars. I thrived on the sounds and the smells of exhaust and racing oil and burnt tires. He’d grown up in Germany, not too far from the Nurburg Ring, and due to a small accident to one eye couldn’t be a race driver, but was a motorcycle mechanic while training to be a tool and die maker. Friends of our family during the war had motorcycles, and I grew up riding them—even to church and Sunday school. I’ve never out-grown my love of cars, either.

One of my first heros was the writer/race driver/skier Denise McCluggage. Oh! How I wanted to be her, but unfortunately, that was not within the realm of possibility. I did my best to imitate her, (except for the skiing) but ran out of money. It was certainly fun while it lasted, though.

In 1994, a compilation of colums written for Autoweek by Ms. McCluggage was published. By Brooks Too Broad for Leaping quickly became one of my favorite books. Unfortunately, it’s largely out-of-print at this time, but we can always hope she’ll relent and let it be re-issued. I wrote a rather long review of it which may be read here: http://www.racerchicks.com/auto/bybrooksbookreview.html

If you like, you can spend more time at that site and read my report of the 24 Hours of Daytona in February 1969. It’s here: http://www.racerchicks.com/chick_pick/CP_Kelly_Daytona.html
(This was my very first published piece, written for our local SCCA newsletter.)

Obviously, I like reading about other women drivers, and was    delighted to find a fairly new book by Todd McCarthy titled: Fast Women: The Legendary Ladies of Racing. It’s mostly about the 50s and earlier, with lots of fascinating history, including a good bit about Denise McCluggage. Unfortunately, the book does not have an index, but it does have a fabulous bibliography of books, films/TV, videos, newsletters, magazine articles, and web-sites, etc. Not all of that latter are up-to-date, but they’re still better than nothing. I’m grateful for such a list.

Fast Women: lives up to its name with rather more ‘kiss and tell’ info than one might expect. Especially considering the era in which it all took place. Certainly it was happening – no one denies that, but it wasn’t talked about all that much, I don’t think. I certainly never heard any of it, and I was right in the middle of it all. On the other hand, I was pretty much oblivious at that age. Actually, I was just way more interested in the machines. Oh, well.

I was pleased to find two of the women I knew back then mentioned in this book: Suzy Dietrich from Ohio and Donna Mae Mims (Think Pink) of Pittsburgh. I could not find my daughter’s god-mother, however, who was one of the best—Nadeene Brengle from San Diego. Actually, Nadeene and her husband Alan got me started in my short-lived racing career. I’ve never regretted one minute of it, either. My only regret is that it didn’t last longer. But I have such fabulous, wonderful memories!

Fast Women is from Miramax, in hard-cover for $23.95. ISBN is 978-1401352028.

Fast forward a bit now, to today, and if you like romance novels as well as auto racing, you might well like the NASCAR books issued by Harlequin. Don’t knock ‘em until you try ‘em. Trust me on this one. Not all of them are winners, but for the most part, they’re very readable, with lots of fascinating mechanical details along with the (mostly) subdued romance elements. Yes, of course, there’s a love story, but it’s pretty much G-rated. NASCAR is family-oriented, after all. The covers are frequently more suggestive than the stories.

Actually, we have a California writer to thank for this fast-growing sub-genre of romance novels. Pamela Britton wrote romance novels because she liked to read them. But she also loved NASCAR. It seemed reasonable to her that these two things could be combined, and so she wrote Dangerous Curves, which came out in March, 2005, and was followed by In The Groove a year later. Six months after that came On The Edge. A three story Christmas anthology was next later in 2006, and since then there have been nearly 50 more titles in this very popular series. I may have to try for one of my own!

Thanks for reading!

If you have comments or suggestions, please send them to kelly@theseniorreader.com

Put On A Happy Face . . .

Put On A Happy Face: A Broadway Memoir – Charles Strouse by Charles Strouse

I loved this book, but with all due respect to Charles  Strouse and his editor and publisher, I think a better (and way more catchy) title might be a line from page 60. “Have you seen my piano?” Come on, now. How often does one have the opportunity (in a logical place and time) to ask that question? It’s a delightful scenario, even if the question was blown off by the stage-hand of whom it was asked.

In a way, it’s also sort of descriptive of Mr. Strouse, at least from his perspective, and after all, that’s what we get with this book. He appears to be not only a very VERY talented musician, but also a genuinely nice guy, not at all impressed with himself, and a not-too-shabby writer of words, as well. There may be a few folks who actually know him who might take exception to my description of him, but I daresay not nearly as many as those who’d agree with me. (It’s obvious that he paid attention when Alan Jay Lerner preached the concept of finding the exact– explicit– word for every situation.)

If you like tunes, especially those that populated Broadway during its ‘Golden Age’ then this is a book you should certainly enjoy. After all, Mr. Strouse (with or without a lyricist) is responsible for a good many very hummable tunes, starting with the title of this book. How many of you reading this right now, could hum at least a line or two from it, without any coaching or accompaniment, right off the top of your head? (Thank you, put your hands down now, you’ve proven my point.)

Although there were several of his creations that didn’t fare so well with fickle audiences or critics, the list of those that did must be very satisfying: Bye Bye Birdie, Applause!, Annie and Golden Boy. Of course, these were during the time when real people cavorted on stage and actually sang! (Without the aid of microphones or other technical wizardry in really huge spaces.) Lesser successes were Mayor, Annie Warbucks, I and Albert, and It’s a Bird . . . It’s a Plane . . It’s Superman, an opera– Nightingale and the revues Upstairs at O’Neals and By Strouse.

He also wrote several film scores, most notably Bonnie and Clyde, for which he won an Grammy, plus The Night They Raided Minsky’s. He also wrote the theme song Those Were the Days (sung so deliciously off-key by the great Jean Stapleton) for All in the Family. Two of his biggest shows –Annie and Bye Bye Birdie– succeeded on Broadway, in films and on TV. Not too bad, that.

Big name stars (and some lesser ones, too) populate the pages of this book. Some live up to what you’ve heard of them, some exceed it. It’s all enjoyable reading, however, and I recommend it highly. You could even read it to a soundtrack of his creations while doing so.

He’s not overly fond of “singers who make three notes out of one as they perform”, but then, neither am I! On the other hand, he’s also the composer of the first rock-and-roll musical. One of those songs Born Too Late was recorded by a new girl group, the Poni-Tails, and took off when a disc jockey (most likely Bill Randle) in Cleveland (yes!) flipped the record and played this B-side of the record on air in 1958. The rest is history.

Another great line: Throughout history, the strongest drives in human history are food, shelter, sex—and the rewriting of someone else’s musical.

“Truth is, no one sets out to write a flop musical. (Unless they’re a character in a Mel Brooks show.)” Right on. Or a flop book, either!

No small part of this book is his frank look at depression: his and his mother’s, primarily, although occasionally someone else’s. This admission can only help those who suffer from this insidious disease, which insists ‘when anything goes particularly well, my depression hits me the hardest.’ I know it was hard on his family, as he admits, but while he wonders if he ‘just didn’t deserve to win’ the rest of us know that ain’t how it works! I think, and I’ll bet there are lots of folks who’d agree with me, that it’s the manic part of us that engenders the most creativity. I’d also be willing to bet that today’s medication would more likely stifle the creativity than not. (Personal opinion, there, not scientific.)

Don’t take my word for it, though, read this charming and informative book for yourself. Then, tell me what you think. I’ll be waiting.

Published by: Sterling Publishing; 2008. ISBN: 978-1402758898 336 pages $19.95.

Hail and Farewell —

Shortly after posting my last entry, Associated Press published a list of Celebrities who’d died during 2008, and I was vividly taken back to a year ago, when I read of the death of George MacDonald Fraser. If you’ve ever read any of his Flashman adventures, you know only too well his joyous spirit and rambunctiousness! Personally, I always wanted to write a Mrs. Flashman book. I’m sure it would have been positively delish.

I skimmed the first few entries, but then gasped in surprise to read the name of Phyllis A. Whitney, who’d died last February at the wonderful age of 104! Wow. As I read, I realized here was an appropriate topic for my next piece. A listing, with brief descriptions of the wonderful writers who left us last year. There are writers of every known genre, I think, award-winners galore—Nobel, Pulitzer and National Book Awards among them. So, here is my brief tribute to all of these wonderful scribes—even those of whom I’d not previously been aware. I hope that at least some of them are to be represented by books on your own shelves, as they are on mine. This is long, for which I apologize, but who could I leave out?

January 2008
2. George MacDonald Fraser OBE, 82. Wrote 12 Flashman adventure yarns (memoirs written by the nonagenarian Flashman, looking back on his days as a hero of the British Army during the 19th century, plus two slightly-related books), a swashbuckler,The Pyrates and non-fiction books, as well as several screenplays. His family created a fan site.

29. Margaret Truman Daniel, 83 Author of 23 mystery novels set in and around Washington DC., plus several non-fiction and fiction books. She wrote well-received biographies of her parents Harry S. Truman (1972) and Bess W. Truman (1986). In addition, she wrote books on White House first ladies and pets, the history of the White House and its inhabitants.

February
8. Phyllis A. Whitney, 104! Born in Japan, but raised in the US, The New York Times once dubbed her “The Queen of the American Gothics”. She wrote more than 40 books, mostly romantic suspense novels, the last of which was published in 1997.

10. Steve Gerber, 60. Award-winning creator of Howard the Duck comic books, among other writings.

10. Ron Leavitt, 60. Co-creator of Married With Children. Wrote episodes for Busting Loose, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and The Bad News Bears (for which he garnered an NAACP Award). In addition he wrote and produced The Jeffersons (for which he won a People’s Choice Award and a second NAACP Award.)

18. Alain Robbe-Grillet, 85. Part of France’s ‘new novel’ movement. The Voyeur was perhaps his most famous book, however, he also wrote and directed many movies.

27 William F. Buckley, 82. Renaissance man: social commentator, founder of the National Review, author of Blackford Oakes spy novels (delish!) and non-fiction.

March
19. Arthur C. Clarke, 90. Visionary Science-fiction writer (2001: A Space Odyssey) host and commentator in the British television series, Mysterious World. Journalists who inquired of Clarke whether he was gay were told, “No, merely mildly cheerful.” Bravo to him! Many readers and critics still consider Childhood’s End his best novel.

24. Rafael Azcona, 81. Spanish novelist, scriptwriter of Oscar-winning film Belle Epoque.

25. Abby Mann, 80. Socially conscious screen-writer of Oscar-winning Judgment at Nuremburg, originally a TV drama in 1959, and probably his most famous work. For TV, he created the series Kojak, plus numerous other screenplays.

30. Dith Pran, 65. Cambodian journalist, inspired the award-winning film, The Killing Fields. Beginning in 1980, Dith worked as a photojournalist with The New York Times.

June
10. Eliot Asinof, 88. He began as a scriptwriter, but was blacklisted for a time during the 1950s.  Although he wrote other novels and nonfiction books unrelated to baseball, his biggest hit was
Eight Men Out—a nonfiction reconstruction of the 1919 Black Sox scandal. He was briefly a minor-league first baseman in the Phillies’ organization before WWII.

13. Tim Russert, 58. Best known as moderator of the long-running TV program Meet the Press, he also author Russert wrote a best-selling autobiography, Big Russ and Me in 2004. Big Russ was his Dad, who emphasized the importance of maintaining strong family values, the reverence of faith, and never taking a short cut to reach a goal. A followup to that book was Wisdom of Our Fathers: Lessons and Letters from Daughters and Sons in 2005.

22. George Carlin, 71. Counterculture comedian who made famous the Seven Words You Can Never Say on TV, also author of many books.

July
1. Clay Felker, 82. Editor: New York Magazine, Esquire, Time, The New York Herald Tribune, and The Village Voice. Not all at the same time! He started as a sportswriter for LIFE, then wrote the book, Casey Stengel’s Secret. He helped develop Sports Illustrated and helped fund Ms. Magazine. Among his famous writers were Gloria Steinem, Tom Wolfe, Jimmy Breslin and Norman Mailer.

25. Randy Pausch, 47. Gave his “The Last Lecture” speech on September 18, 2007 at Carnegie Mellon, then released it as a book, which became a popular best-seller. Major topic was “what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?”

August
3. Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 89. Russian humanitarian and author of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich -1962, a novella; The Gulag Archipelago (three volumes) -1973–1978, not a memoir, but a history of the police state existing the Soviet Union; Prussian Nights -finished in 1951, first published in 1974, poetry. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970.

September
1. Sheldon Keller, 85. TV writer: Caesar’s Hour, The Beatles Forever, Cleopatra Jones, plus specials about Marty Feldman, Bing Crosby, Carol Burnett, Frank Sinatra, Sophia Loren, Carol Channing, Danny Kaye, Dinah Shore, Shirley Temple and others.

7. Gregory Mcdonald, 71. Writer of nine mysteries about Irwin Maurice Fletcher, an investigative reporter otherwise known as “Fletch.” Also the ‘Flynn’ series, and ‘Son of Fletch’ series. Two books earned an Edgar: Fletch as Best First Novel in 1975, and Confess, Fletch — Best Paperback Original in 1977. He also wrote non-series (and non-mystery) novels.

12. David Foster Wallace, 46. Author of darkly witty works, such as Infinite Jest, which Time included in its All-Time 100 Greatest Novels list (covering the period 1923-2006). Also wrote essays and short-stories.

24. Oliver Crawford, 91. Another black-listed, and subsequently award-winning TV writer: Star Trek, Kojak, The Bionic Woman, Mannix, Medical Center, Love, American Style, among many others.

28. Osborn Elliott, 83. Was a Newsweek editor in 60s, credited with reinvigorating the news magazine and reawakening America’s spirit of volunteerism.

October
19. Marilyn Ferguson, 70. Author of New Age best-seller The Aquarian Conspiracy. As founding member of the Association of Humanistic Psychology, she published and edited the well-regarded science newsletter Brain/Mind Bulletin from 1975 to 1996.

19. Mr. Blackwell, 86. Creator of the Ten Worst Dressed Women List, an annual awards presentation he unveiled in January of each year, and read more avidly than many books! In addition, he published the Fabulous Fashion Independents list and an annual Academy Awards fashion review. He wrote two books, Mr. Blackwell: 30 Years of Fashion Fiascos and an autobiography, From Rags to Bitches.

26. Tony Hillerman, 83. Author of acclaimed Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels (18 total) featuring Lt. Joe Leaphorn, some of which became big-screen and television movies. In all, he wrote more than 30 books total. Dance Hall of the Dead won a 1974 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Novel.

27. Es’kia Mphahele, 88. South African writer of 1959 award-winning memoir Down Second Avenue, but also wrote other fiction, non-fiction, autobiography and short stories.

29. William Wharton, 82. Painter/writer of National Book Award winner Birdy, his first novel published in 1978 when he was more than 50 years old. A critical and popular success, Alan Parker directed the film starring Nicolas Cage and Matthew Modine. After the publication of Birdy and through the early 1990s, he published eight more novels, including Dad and A Midnight Clear, both of which were also filmed, the former starring Jack Lemmon.

31. Studs Terkel, 96. Pulitzer prize winning author of books about common man. Louis “Studs” Terkel was, in addition, a historian, actor, and broadcaster. He is perhaps best remembered for his oral histories of common Americans, and for hosting a long-running radio show in Chicago.

November
4. Michael Crichton, 66. A medical doctor, his best-selling books reflected his scientific background, along with a fantastic imagination. He wrote science fiction, medical fiction, and thrillers, including Jurassic Park, its sequel The Lost World, The Andromeda Strain, and the TV series ER.

5. John Leonard, 69. Literary critic who championed future Nobel winners Toni Morrison and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He wrote about books every month for Harper’s and about television every week for New York magazine. He once said, “The books we love, love us back.”

17. Irving Brecher, 94. Noted comedy writer: Oscar-nominated for Meet Me in St. Louis. He was the only writer ever to get sole credit on a Marx Brothers film including At the Circus in 1939 and Go West in 1940. He was also one of the numerous uncredited writers for The Wizard of Oz. Other screenplays included Shadow of the Thin Man, Ziegfeld Follies, Bye Bye Birdie, and Sail A Crooked Ship. His memoirs, The Wicked Wit of the West: Golden Age Screenwriter Irving Brecher Gets the Last Word, is scheduled for January 2009 publication by Ben Yehuda Press. ISBN 9781934730232.

19. Clive Alexander Barnes CBE, 81. Witty and erudite chief dance, drama and opera critic for the New York Post. He also authored numerous books about the performing arts, particularly dance, plus biographies of Tennessee Williams and Rudolf Nureyev.

19. John Michael Hayes, 89. Scriptwriter for radio comedies and dramas, plus films for Alfred Hitchcock, including Rear Window, which garnered an Edgar Award and an Oscar nomination. He also wrote big-budget melodramas: Torch Song, Butterfield 8, The Carpetbaggers, Where Love Has Gone, and the Oscar-nominated Peyton Place. Other Hitchcock collaborations were To Catch a Thief, The Trouble with Harry and The Man Who Knew Too Much.

December
4. Forrest J. Ackerman, 92. Editor and literary agent who made famous term ‘sci-fi’ (first used by Heinlein.) He edited Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, created the Vampirella comic book franchise, and was the original Fanboy. A strong advocate of Esperanto in the science fiction community, he also won the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1997.

24. Harold Pinter CH, CBE, 78. Nobel laureate for literature in 2005, and playwright. Named the most influential and imitated playwright of his generation, was also a noted actor and theatre director. In his later years, he was a staunch campaigner against human rights abuses. He wrote 29 stage plays, 26 screenplays, radio and TV plays, poetry, fiction and essays. His best-known works include The Birthday Party, The Caretaker, The Homecoming, and Betrayal. He adapted each to film. In spite of frail health since 2001, he continued to act on stage and screen until October 2006.

31. Donald Westlake, 75. Grand master mystery novelist. He created several series under his own name or any of a batch of pen-names (Richard Stark, Tucker Coe, Samuel Holt, Timothy J. Culver and J. Morgan Cunningham, among others), all well-crafted and wonderfully written. My own fave is Bank Shot, in which is mobile bank is robbed. Er, stolen. Hard Case Crime is reissuing a good many of his titles, so keep an eye open, if you missed any on the first go-round.

Farewell, ladies and gentlemen! We’ll certainly miss you!  Your magnificient legacy lives on!

Old School Romance –

Happy Holidays!

Whatever holiday you celebrate, I hope it is a joyous one!I’m sorry there has been such a delay between postings here, but a new medication I was given sort of threw me for a loop! I’ve stopped taking it, and am slowly making my way back to what is normal—for me! My New Year’s resolution will be to keep up with this venture in a more timely fashion, and catch up with those projects in the works, and which need more attention. My aim is to post a new column here every ten days or so. You’ll be the ultimate judge of how well I succeed. Now then, without further ado, here is the first of my ‘good intentions’!

Old School Romance          by          Conrad V. Sucatre

Do any of these names mean anything to you?

Faith Baldwin
Grace Livingstone Hill
Temple Bailey
Emilie Loring
Kathleen Norris
Goergette Heyer
Taylor Caldwell
Lloyd C. Douglas
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Barbara Cartland

If you’ve been reading for some years, chances are many of them seem familiar to you. And well they should! These were the forerunners of today’s romance novels, which comprise more than 50% of all paperback books sold these days. Don’t scoff at the inclusion of the two gentlemen, either, because they definitely belong in this list. Big-time! Lloyd C. Douglas wrote The Robe while Edgar Rice Burroughs created Tarzan, (categorized as romance by his publishers) as well as the modern romantic science-fiction genre. That latter one came about in 1912, in a short story called Under the Moons of Mars.

The ladies were among the biggest selling authors of their respective days, and they did it by writing romance. Their books may not be exactly what you think of these days when you think of romance novels, but in their day, they most certainly were just that! Of course, by today’s standards, they’re not very PC, either, but then, our books of today wouldn’t have made it past the censors back then, either. So, we each have to concede at least a little bit in acknowledging our debt to these past masters of the art.

Did you know, for instance, that in the middle of the depression, in 1933, to be exact, the highest-paid writer for that year was a writer of romance? Or that a romance novel won the Pulitzer Prize for literature? True. These and other delicious facts are readily available in this slim book by Detroit author Conrad V. Sucatre, who grew up reading these books, as did a lot of us. His curiosity about the authors took him another step, however, and he ended up wanting to share his discoveries. We should be happy he did so. It’s a fun read, to be sure—one that may well cause your eyebrows to raise in astonishment as you become better acquainted with these forerunners of modern-day romance novels.

This respectful and affectionate book sheds light on those early romance authors, who were busily writing long before Harlequin became the first name of romance. Almost every aspect of what is now accepted as standard was put into print by the names listed at the top of this page. Bravo to Mr. Sucatre for shining a spotlight on them all.

“These are the books (plus science fiction) that I read while growing up,” he explains, “and I was curious as to why they sort of disappeared. But then, I discovered that books of this type were being published by Harlequin and others, so I included those books, as well, on my reading lists. But still . . . there is something about these ‘old school’ writers that I really like and don’t want to see them just disappear.” For five years until the fall of 2005, he published a twice-a-year e-zine with the assistance of his daughter, Athena, called Romance with Attitude. “It was a fun project, and led directly to this book,” he adds.

Of course, he collects books by these old school authors, as well as those by newer names, that are making publishing history in our own day.

P. S. It was Temple Bailey, who was the highest paid author in 1933, and Gone With the Wind that won the Pulitzer in 1937. We can still hope!

Mr. Sucatre’s book is available from the publisher, Vintage Romance Publishing, Inc. at www.vrpublishing.com/book_pages/old_school_romance.html  or the on-line bookstores.

Please look in again on (or about) January 5, 2009 for the next entry on this page. If you have comments, please write to me at: kelly@theseniorreader.com

Old movies, anyone?

Do you like old movies? So does Jeffrey Cohen, author of Some Like it Hot-Buttered.  Or at least if he doesn’t, he certainly puts up a good pretense!

The premise here is that Elliott Freed, the main protagonist, wrote a book and sold it to the movies. What happened to it after that is a whole other story, but suffice it to say that he took the money and ran straight back to New Jersey, where he bought an old movie theater, in which he intends to show comedy classics.

In a nod to that classic of comedies, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Freed names his theater Comedy Tonight. For a week at a time, he shows a classic such as the Mel Brooks/Gene Wilder Young Frankenstein, along with Count Bubba/Down-Home Vampire. Indeed! There are other such unlikely combinations mentioned, but they don’t really figure into this book very much. But you won’t really care too much, because Freed is such a likeable nebbish.

Mr. Cohen’s greatest strength, I think, is his ability to create characters of distinction who nearly jump off the page in their intensity. From the wannabe Goth teenager Sophia, who runs the concession stand to Freed’s father (at least close to being a senior if he isn’t already); to the black police chief Barry Dutton, who is as down-to-earth and human as anyone might wish for, to – well, you’ll find your own favorites among the various suspects in this charming cozy mystery.

It has a good many twists in the plot as it meanders along; it’s never boring and comes to several satisfying conclusions along the way. The ending isn’t where or when you think it is, or maybe even should be, but I think you’ll agree it’s in the right place, once you get there.

What struck me most noticeably was the lack of profanity, or sex (although there are allusions to same, and no real violence, either. Incredible, to my way of thinking, which is why I decided to highlight the book in this column. I think it proves that a book written in today’s world does not have to have those ingredients in order to be enjoyable. I’ve not yet read any of his other books, so I hope I don’t end up eating those words!

Still, I enjoyed this book very much. It was pleasant, indeed, not to feel like I’d been beaten over the head with a two-by-four once I’d finished reading it.

Bravo, Mr. Cohen!

On a related note. Did you notice the small item in the paper Sunday, about profanity in today’s movies? If you wish to offer an opinion, or protest the excess, it was suggested you write to:
Dan Glickman, Chairman
Office of the Chairman and CEO
Washington DC
1600 Eye St NW
Washington DC 20006

===================

I have always loved mystery novels. Probably always will. Recently, I discovered a trio of books purportedly set in a Retirement Center. The author, John Miles, is billed as being the best-selling author of suspense/thrillers under his own name, John Miles being a pseudonym. I found the books (published in the early 90s) at my library and set out to read them.

I really wanted to like this mini-series, but honestly, I just could not quite get a handle on it, and would be very hesitant to recommend it to anyone. So why mention it at all? Well, someone else might stumble over it, too, and think it could be a fun read. To me, they’re only so-so. Most of the older characters are stereotypes, which is surprising, given the author’s age when he wrote these books. (Unless for whatever reason, they were written when he was much younger, and then sort of updated. Always a possibility, I suppose.) The books are dated, that’s for sure, and while I’d never tell anyone ‘not to bother’ I think that in this case a bit of advance knowledge might be a good thing.

On the other hand, these books came in very handy in my life at what proved to be a very busy time. I can’t live without reading, so having books that were easily put-down-able, came in very handy. You may find them perfectly fine for your own reading, if you like to read in short spurts.

The author used his own home-town of Norman, Oklahoma as the location for the three books. The Timberdale Retirement Center is a combination—sort of—senior apartment house and an assisted living facility. I think the major problem is this book was published in 1992, which means it was most likely written in 1990 or early 91, when such facilities were first becoming very popular and getting the kinks out of established notions concerning the wants and wishes of older residents.

The first book is A Permanent Retirement, and one positive thing I can say is that the author (who is now deceased, by the way) never talks down to the reader, or outright laughs at any of the oldsters portrayed here. He seems genuinely concerned for and caring about them. There are a good many references to OU college football, and the Dallas Cowboys—and their cheerleaders—and glimpses of the topgraphy and weather conditions in Norman during the early to middle fall. The solution to the mystery sort of came out of left field, however, and try as I might, I don’t remember any clues pointing in that direction.

The second book—Murder in Retirement—is wrapped around the concept of a somewhat shop-worn acting troupe brought in to put on a Murder Mystery Weekend. The plays are quite elaborate with hints dropped here and there for several days in advance of the actual ‘murder’. Unfortunately, the leader of the troupe is not a very ethical person, and he is the one who ends up dead. Murdered, to be exact. The author really reaches for the conclusion, which I didn’t think was all that believable.

A Most Deadly Retirement is the finale and would have been much better for a bit more editing. It’s about 50 pages too long, and although the who is a pretty-much forgone conclusion, the why isn’t determined until the very last page.

In my opinion, there are many much better mysteries set among spry oldsters: books by Nora Charles, Rita Lakin and a traveling elderhostel series by Peter Abresch, among others. But having not yet read all of them, I’ll wait until I do for further discussion. The three authors mentioned here, however, will have more space devoted to them and their books in coming reports. In the meantime – Happy Reading!

If you have comments or suggestions, please let me know, either by using the comments box below, or write to me at: kelly@theseniorreader.com

Aviation History

Torrance Airport (Images of Aviation) by Charles Lobb

For every story told by Tom Brokaw in The Greatest Generation there are probably ten thousand that haven’t yet been told but are just as interesting, if we only knew about them.

Slowly but surely, more of these tales are coming to the surface and are well-deserving of attention. One such is the story of how the Torrance Airport came into existence, and why.

Charles Lobb, who lives in Torrance, CA, was bitten by the flying-bug and eventually became a certified flight instructor for the Federal Aviation Administration. He’s also a history buff, and in 1994, the annual air fair held at the Torrance Airport (now known as Zamperini Field) celebrated the 50th anniversary of D-Day. He became curious about some of the tales told by the old-timers. “I decided to dig a bit to see what I could find,” he says.

“At first, I couldn’t find anything at all, but then someone suggested I try the Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell AFB. Almost immediately, they came up with five rolls of microfilm with 1800 frames per roll. Talk about a treasure trove!” He still sounds somewhat awed by the succeeding developments. He put the word out about his search, and discovered that the secretary of the National P-38 Association lived in the San Fernando Valley and could send him names of squadrons and pilots. Inquires brought in even more names and scrapbooks, anecdotal stories and TONS of photos!

“It was like the game of CLUE. I gathered together as much information as I could and assembled a slide show, which I presented for local pilot, historical and homeowner organizations for about five years. Then one day a gentleman approached me, saying ‘I’m an editor for Arcadia Publishing, and I think you have a book here.’ I let him talk me into it, and here we are.”

Torrance Airport is one of a huge series of local history books published by Arcadia, and made it to print in August, 2006. They have a tight format, 128 pages max, with lots of photos, but still, according to Lobb, “if I had six photos, I could use only two. But which two? We ended up with 205 pictures and I probably had several hundred more. There was easily three times more stuff than there was room.” The city of Torrance also hired a professional film producer to produce a film based on Chuck’s slides and on some of the 8 mm film shot by the pilots who trained here.

Along the way he unearthed a multitude of interesting facts, some of which didn’t make it into the book. First of all, he discovered Louis Zamperini, who grew up in Torrance and set several national track records running the mile in both high school and college. He was the youngest American to compete in the 1936 Olympics, finishing 8th in the 5000 meter race. Zamperini enlisted before the war started and became a bombardier. When his plane crashed in the Pacific, he drifted on a rubber raft for 47 days before being captured. He spent the rest of the war as a POW. Upon his triumphant return to Torrance, the airfield was renamed in his honor. Zamperini also wrote the forward to Lobb’s book.

Southern California had quickly become a Mecca for movie-makers in the early years of the 20th Century, and it didn’t take long for the burgeoning aircraft industry to follow suit. When WWII broke out with the attack on Pearl Harbor, folks in California suddenly realized they could be very vulnerable to an air attack from that direction. The Lomita Flight Strip, the original Army Air Corps name for the Torrance Airport, occupied a prime piece of land that is well sheltered from ocean weather by the Palos Verdes peninsula.

In the early 30s, there were some 60-plus air fields in the Los Angeles area, mostly small grass strips with one or two buildings. Today there are eight remaining. Flying was a relatively inexpensive hobby at that time, as one could buy a decent used bi-plane for about $300. The Graf Zeppelin landed at Mines Field in 1927 during it’s famous round–the-world flight, putting this quaint grass strip on the map. It later became LAX. “At that time, it was way out in the boondocks,” Lobb says, with a chuckle. “The public wondered why they built the airport so far from downtown”.

In the late 30’s, the hub of aerial commerce in the Los Angeles area was the Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale with Charles Lindbergh one of many commercial transport pilots. During WW II, the field was commandeered by the Army Air Corps to form newly trained fighter pilots into squadrons who subsequently completed their training at bases throughout Southern California. The Lomita Flight Strip, built by funds appropriated by Congress, was one of these fields.

Some of the squadrons housed at Lomita were: 373rd Fighter Squadron (which sent pilots to various other units); the 55th Pursuit Squadron; the 429th Fighter Squadron and the 434th Fighter Squadron, which primarily sent pilots to Europe. After new fighter squadrons were no longer being formed, the 6th Ferry Command at Long Beach took over Lomita Flight Strip, with 1,700 pilots ferrying new aircraft to international locations. The 6th Ferry Command also included a squadron of WASPs (Women’s Auxiliary Service Pilots) who ferried planes to domestic sites.

After the war, it took several years to determine who owned the field, with the city of Torrance emerging victorious. During this time, Japanese-Americans coming back from internment camps were housed in the barracks at the field. “A good many of these folks stayed right here”, adds Lobb. “They went into farming and gardening. We have many large Japanese-American communities in the area.”

In 1948, the city took over the field and renamed it the Torrance Municipal Airport, Zamperini Field. The city’s Master Plan included adding a second runway, big enough for commercial aircraft, and added auto dealerships and a shopping center around the perimeter of the field, all of which are thriving today. In 1957, the Army installed a NIKE missile battery, complete with underground bunkers. “The bunkers are still there,” adds Lobb. “Now the fire department does search and rescue training in them.”

A fun aspect is appearing at reunions of military outfits with book or DVD at hand. “Some of these guys are still the same macho, hard-drinking guys they always were. Only now, they’re in their 80s and have wives who never knew them as teens or young men. The wives especially seem to really love seeing their husbands as they once were!”

Lobb has one last word of advice to anyone who is (or knows) a WWII veteran. “Get a tape recorder, sit down and get ‘em talking. You never know what you’ll get. Treasure, for sure.”

Lobb sells Torrance Airport for $20 and the DVD for $10 at his personal appearances. Of course, the book is also available at walk-in or on-line bookstores. (ISBN 0-7385-4662-3, Library of Congress Card Number 2006924923.)

The older reader . . .

If, like me, you’re of a certain age – old enough for Social Security (or fast approaching it!) – chances are, you’re a reader. Chances are also good that you might well enjoy reading about characters of your approximate age and inclinations, dreams and hopes. Chances are even better that you might (also) need glasses to indulge in this delightful behavior.

Some years ago, a forward-thinking group put together the Large Print Book Club and has been doing quite well with it. Most of the best-sellers are there and readily available. A trip to your favorite bookstore or library will provide even more titles, but there are still many more published in various modes than any one bookstore or library can stock. (Even the on-line stores don’t have quite everything.)

Recently, e-books have become quite popular among the younger set, some even being available to read on a cell-phone. Indeed! (Those people will certainly need glasses – sooner, rather than later, methinks!) One advantage to e-books is the availability to increase font size, making it easier to read in that regard, except that one is then glued to a computer in order to read it. I find it very difficult to read a laptop in bed, and no matter where I am, I almost always read myself to sleep. Or at least, close to it.

Yes, there are some new electronic “readers,” but generally speaking, they’re expensive. (I’m waiting until they come down in price, to less than $100.) If you read customer comments about these contrivances, the ability to increase type size is among the most frequent items in the praise category.

Of course, you could order an e-book and print it out, and then you’d have a paper copy, but that could be rather expensive. Paper and ink are not cheap, and printing any book – one copy at a time – would bankrupt even the best budget in a very short time.

Still, even with these electronic aides, you’d have to know what to look for in terms of literary content. Despite what you may think, there ARE books about seniors, if you know where to look. They range from cozy mysteries to noir, from gentle love stories to erotica. There are more self-help books than one could read in a year, if one read a book a day! And then, you’d only have to start all over again—and you’d still be behind!

The publishing industry is sometimes slow to catch on to a trend – but it might wake up one of these days and realize that we are the fastest growing segment of society, and we’d like to read more books about people who look like us, instead of their preferred diet of teeny-boppers. We want intelligent books about folks like us because we’re not stupid. We’ve lived and survived, and have generally acquired wisdom along with our experience, and even if we’ve slowed a step or two, our persistence will eventually get us to our destination.

When a local small publisher offered to re-issue my book Windsong in 2005, I insisted on a large-print version as well as the regular one. Granted, with no advertising budget to speak of, sales haven’t been incredible, but guess what? The large-print version has consistently out-sold the regular one by 2 to 1! I think other publishers are making a huge mistake by not utilizing this technology.

And then, too, there are the audio books–and in such variety, too. They used to be on cassettes, and then moved to CDs. Now, with ever-changing technology, many of them are available for download. These can be loaded onto an MP3 or IPod making them extremely transportable and a marvelous companion for those daily walks we all need to be taking. We can exercise our brains, our ears and our bodies all at one time! Who says multi-tasking is only for the young?

Remember Miss Marple? She may well have been the first over-achieving senior citizen in the mystery field. She’s certainly not the last, however. As the population ages, there will be (or should be) even more books about seniors — happy, active, vital, still very with-it seniors — but it’s still very hard to find them. I search industriously for them and try to let others know about them. Not all of these are wonderful – but I seldom tell anyone not to read a given book, no matter how unhappy I am with it. I do try to explain why I didn’t like it and be fair in my judgment.

If you have questions about any of my reviews, please feel free to leave me a comment below the article and I will do my best to respond. Or send me a recommendation for a book you’d like me to review. Your feedback will keep me writing – about books and reading and even writing (and maybe publishing, too!).

Kelly@theseniorreader.com

Ageless Passion

In every walk of life, and nearly every age as well, there are those folks who, for various reasons, are ‘squeaky clean’ – and you almost never run a risk of offending anyone if you keep that thought in mind. There are those occasions, however, when you want to tell the folks on the other side of that line about something they might enjoy. But in a general audience, it can be tricky to do this. I know. I have the reputation of being a G-rated person, but still sometimes, I do get a bit bawdy and can appreciate another facet of life. Maybe not as a steady diet, but…

This is a review of a book that might not appeal to everyone, but should prepare the reader for what they’ll find within the pages. (By the way, I am 71, and the author of the book is 72, and we’ve yet to meet.) I would not, for the life of me, impose my standards on anyone else, but then I don’t watch TV either, and am constantly shocked by what I hear about it! I think in today’s society, it’s a rare person who isn’t aware of the changes in civility regarding language and sensuality. That said, I truly did enjoy this book immensely, and will certainly read it again and again. If you cannot tolerate a more risqué kind of language, then perhaps this wouldn’t be the book for you – or your aged grandma. On the other hand, she just might surprise you and prove to be younger-at-heart than you’d previously supposed.

The author of Gray Pleasures, Robert W. Birch, is a retired sex therapist who knows whereof he writes. He practiced for some 35 years in the Columbus, Ohio, area, and still writes for various publications on this topic. My only very minor quibble is that he knows all the four-letter words and uses them with great joy and abandon. He’s an excellent writer and capable of creating marvelous characters and intriguing plots. This was his second foray into fiction, after having published several non-fiction books. Since this book was published, he’s written two novella-length humorous, erotic science fiction books and a full length paranormal, erotic mystery. Talk about mixing genres!

Gray Pleasures is a book for grown-ups. Really grown up. And older and wiser. It’s a wonderful love story – with a bit of mystery thrown in and a huge serving of erotica. (Yes, older people do think of such things!)

Mary Grace is a widow, who’s discovered more about herself in the last two or three years than she ever knew before. She’s active and busy, and very much charmed by the 70-ish poet Nick, who comes to speak at the Senior Center where Mary Grace plays bridge. They click, and being a very with-it lady, Mary Grace looks him up on the internet and discovers that he’ll be doing a book-signing at the local book store very soon. Off she goes to meet the poet who so intrigued her during his little talk.

Nick has been a bachelor for some years, but has dated and had relationships, one of which threatens to completely overset the new romance. Nick is honest with Mary Grace about the past as they become closer, and they are able to overcome the tragic situation.

Nick is a creative lover, introducing Mary Grace to all kinds of new things – and sensations – and she is a most receptive student. Together, they prove that there are other routes to satisfaction than those considered typical or ordinary.

Seriously, I hope the author can be convinced to write more of this type of book. After all, we all like to read about characters who look like us. And goodness knows, there are enough of us older folks around these days to provide a good market for more books of this kind.

Gray Pleasures is available in print from Lulu or through the author’s website. He also writes poetry (some bawdy, some not) at http://www.poetry-nut.com.

kellyATtheseniorreader.com