My 1st Published Article

September 24, 2024, at home

I am "only" 63 years old, but this makes me feel old:

Today, I am celebrating the FORTY-SECOND (42nd) anniversary of my FIRST published article in a newspaper. This solidified myself as a journalist and became the launching pad for a fascinating journalistic journey over several decades.

Here is my review of The Who’s 1982 album “It’s Hard,” which appeared in the September 24, 1982, issue of The Villanovan, the weekly newspaper of Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. Click/Tap on it to enlarge it. I also wrote a review of The Who concert I attended a month or two later.

After two-and-a-half years in the pre-med program at Villanova, I changed my major to communications with a minor in the French language, graduating in December 1984. I then graduated with a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia in May 1988.

I have definitely had a fun, interesting, and challenging series of gigs over the years (September 1982 to April 2017).

My positions over the years include reporter, writer, rewriter, reviewer, proofreader, page designer, photographer, researcher, and many types of editors for newspapers, magazines, newsletters, statistical reports, white papers, news websites, and a wire service. I have also edited three books: a paperback on bankruptcy law; and two paperback biographies on Johnny Cash and on Whitney Houston.

Some of the other vastly varied topics with which I have been involved include (not in order): news; business; sports; real estate; income tax; automotive; religion; advice; immigration; risk management (corporate insurance); the chemical industry, including heavy and agriculture chemicals, organics (aromatics and aliphatics), pharmaceuticals, paints, coatings, plastics, oils, fats, waxes, flavors and fragrances; commodities (futures and options) trading, specifically coffee, sugar, cocoa, cotton, orange juice, and whole milk, plus crude oil and natural gas; the Federal Reserve Bank of New York money supply; home improvement; home building; housewares; health and beauty care; components of retail store displays, specifically mannequins, lighting, showcases, shelving, framing, plastics, flooring, graphics, signage, architecture, and analytical research; a cruise ship; and rock 'n' roll, movies, gossip, crime, and entertainment, specifically as a copy editor and page designer from 2002 to 2011 for Star, Globe, National Examiner, and National Enquirer magazines.

Due to medical issues, I left the journalism profession on March 31, 2017, which was the final day of a three-week-long gig editing and rewriting the Intranet (internal) website of The World, the largest residential cruise ship in the world.

As for me now, I am (still) in the midst of writing an autobiographical novel loosely based on my four years as a reporter, writer, and researcher, covering the technical and financial aspects of the chemical industry for an international weekly magazine based in New York City from 1992 to 1996. I worked at four gigs in The City from 1991 to 1998 before moving to Florida.

In addition, I am (still) in the preliminary stages of self-publishing a book of my self-penned poetry. I have written more than 300 poems since 1986, so I need to choose 75 of my subjectively best poems for inclusion. I have had several of my poems published in national anthologies, mostly in the 1990s, and one in 2010 with Eber & Wein Publishing company. One of my poems was published in 2022 in Eber & Wein's "Best Poets of 2021" anthology. I also had a poem published in 2021 in this company's anthology titled "Best Poets of 2020."

I also maintain a personal blog, which basically is most of my entries from Facebook; and a YouTube channel that mostly contains videos of myself playing the piano and/or singing, plus medical updates.