50 years in the blink of an eye

To go back to Iona College, the little commuter college in the New York suburbs, where I first discovered I could learned to write was a kick!

To be asked to return to talk about my roller-coaster life was an even bigger kick!!

To hear my classmates, most of whom I hadn’t seen in 50 years call my multi-media pitch “Life Begins at 65” insightful, inspirational, entertaining and bizarre was the biggest kick of all!!

In less than 60 minutes, we traveled from Harlem, where I was born, to Manhattan, where I made a lost a few fortunes on Wall Street and Madison Avenue to Southern California, where I unexpectedly morphed into a critically-acclaimed author with 8 life-experience based books to my credit. The Q and A was appreciated and the book signing was also pretty cool.

Some of the reviews from my well-known classmates like Wall Street guru, Ralph Acampora, the highly-respected Catholic Charities executive, Carmine Magazino, Ph.D, and Luxury Hotel Industry mover and shaker, Dennis O’Toole, were like the icing in the cake.

“I just finished this book – I couldn’t put it down….it was superb…I think it should be made into a movie…it’s a slam dunk.”
-Ralph A.

“I just finished reading “Call Sign, White Lily” and I take my hat off to you on marvelously and sensitively telling this story of an incredible young woman. I can see why you were so intrigued by Lilia. I literally could not put the book down and did not want it to end. I have read so many books from the European and American perspective of World War II but you captured the perspective from the Russian side (their determination and sacrifice to overcome the Nazis). You developed the story so well the reader feels they are in the sky with Lilia, Lyosha and Katya.”
-Dennis O.

“Whew! I don’t know how you were ever able to swim to the surface after dealing with the likes of Franklin, Nachman, Tothson, Edelberg and Krotsky. My mother had an expression, “If you like down with dogs you wake up with flees”. It was meant for the girls in the family but it seems to fit here. You have a tremendous ability to tell a story and keep the reader on the edge. This Little Piggy was a fascinating but sad story. Sorry you had to experience it but you fought the good fight and survived.”
-Carmine M.

Makes me wonder what to do for my 100th college reunion.