Stewart Flate
As said in the introduction of my book, I have been very fortunate to have met many people, who in their own way, were or are very humorous. What has intrigued me about them is that none of the people I crossed paths with ever saw themselves as being especially entertaining except Stan.
Obviously, the people I have met have often shared experiences with me which have heavily influenced who I became. For example, my favorite pastime is baseball and Stan and I go round and round as to baseball's place in American culture. He roots for the White Sox, but only when they are winning. Pure baseball fans reject this philosophy as being heretical.
Not living near a major league park, I have little choice but to watch my Indians on TV. Occasionally, I even collect memorabilia which serves as a substitute for being at the "cathedral".
Next in line is my love for American history, which of course, is all around us. Museums, historical landmarks and folks like Ken Burns always make sure that I never have withdrawal symptoms from what I feel has given me a bit of insight to today's political and social environment.
Continuing down the agenda is my passion for garage saleing. I know that saleing is not a word, but to me it ranks up there with the word fulfilling. I find it amazing that people actually want to dispose of articles which I view as absolute necessities of life.
My wife Debby and son Shawn, who you will more than meet, should you read the book, often jibe me for bringing home articles which they surmise as being absolute junk, that is, until something arrives at either residence that they find as being a relic.
And yet none of these hobbies are as precious as reading. What can a person do, which enables the participant, to partake of the author's thoughts and experiences, which of course is the short cut to life. True, film is the co-leader to reading and I watch Mr. Burns and David M. with a joy reserved from consuming an outstanding pizza.
Life is to be enjoyed and living a clean life is the easiest path to happiness. Hopefully you will read my book and obtain a measure of the same pleasure as I had in writing it.
