rlfj: Blog

We now move into Book 2, a generation after Book 1. The Caparellis and Tomasinos are still around, but we are now meeting a new family, the Roswells.

This is why I had to rename Father Frank from Roswell to Rossman. When I wrote the story, I forgot that I had already named Father Frank as Francis Roswell. Then I wrote about a girl and her family, the Roswells. I didn’t catch it until too late, at which time I changed Father Frank to Francis Rossman. Again, when I finish the story, I will update the published versions, and you will be able to download the corrected version.

The places I mention in Chapter 5 - Ballston Spa, West Milton, and Rock City Falls – are all very real places. In the 1960s they were small, quiet, and rural. When my wife and I moved to upstate New York, we went from a suburban apartment to a place where building lots were measured in acres. In many townships and counties (but not in villages or cities) the minimum building lot is five acres. We still have family in the suburbs, and they just can’t imagine life where the driveway is over five-hundred feet long, the annual snowfall is over eight feet, and the deer and the antelope play. (Okay, no antelope, but plenty of deer, coyote, rabbit, fox, racoon, bobcat, bear, porcupine, turkey, quail, and every other critter in upstate NY, all on my seven acres.)

FYI – I edited a Soft-R version of the story and have it on Bookapy now. Also, FYI, if you plan to buy my stories, buy them on Bookapy. They pay the authors better royalties.

Enjoy!

The fun and games in Chapter 4, specifically Mary’s excommunication, dates to the Second Vatican Council, commonly known as Vatican Two. Vatican Two ran from 1962 to 1965 and essentially involved modernizing the Catholic Church. More than a few conservative priests fought against said modernization; certainly, Father Sebastiani would have. Elements included increased religious freedom, improved relations with other religions, and that Mass could be done in languages other than Latin. Some priests to this day preach against it. (I almost walked out when a priest in 2000 called the Jews Christ-killers, a curse from the Second Century; I’m 1/8 Jewish and my entire family is of German descent, which would have been a problem if they lived in Germany during the 1930s and 1940s.) Excommunication extends to all sacraments, including baptism, so Herschel would have been denied baptism.

Italian speakers: a few more Italian/Latin words/phrases. Double-check me, please. I can fix any errors.

On a more amusing note, my mother got married in 1952 in a beautiful white satin dress. She handed down the dress to my sister in 1990, who then handed it down to my youngest daughter in 2011. Both my sister and my daughter made some modifications (different trains, etc.) but looked spectacular, and have still managed to stay married. Mom made it to 52 years before Dad died; my sister and daughter are still going strong. That’s a fantastic return on investment for a dress from 1952.

Also, for those who bought the book, the priest’s original last name was Roswell. I changed it in the SOL edition to Rossman. When I finish publishing, I will update the books. You’ll be able to download the corrected version.

Enjoy!

Chapter 3’s title is basically what happens. Tommy & Mary continue to be romantically involved. It’s relatively simple. It’s not the longest chapter, but chapters don’t have equal lengths. You break them where they make sense.

The results are in for whether to do a less graphic version of the story. Out of 8 respondents, 5 voted for a less graphic version. It wasn’t a great response rate, so I don’t think it’s all that statistically valid a survey, but I get the idea. (5548 downloads divided by 2 chapters; 168 votes, 8 responses?) When I finish with this story, I’ll post something between PG-13 and R. I’m not sure about doing it on Bookapy since there is a cash cost to getting an ISBN. FYI, historically, the only other story I’ve done this for was A Fresh Start, and the sales rate on that story for the last two years was 77:8, XXX vs. PG-13, almost ten-to-one! Not sure what the significance of this is anyway.

Enjoy!

Here’s a little more history from the 1960s. Google ‘1960s car seats’ and see what they look like. Forget any padding or straps or seat belts. They consisted of a cheap metal frame that hung over the back of the front seat. Seat belts weren’t required until 1967. In the event of an accident, the baby and the seat would go flying into the windshield. Ouch!

Also, a mistake on my part – baby strollers! Baby strollers were nothing like what they are today. Nowadays they are folding multifunction seats with wheels. In the 1960s they were basically beds on bicycle tires. After checking, I knew there was no way Mary was going to put a stroller in the back of her mother’s Beetle. Tommy could carry one in the bed of his truck. I rewrote that piece. For those who have bought the story, when I finish publishing it and have fixed any errors found, I will update the published version, and you can download a fresh copy.

Speaking of which, an astute reader discovered an error in one of my Italian translations in Chapter 1. I uploaded a revised chapter.

Enjoy!

To all those who purchased a copy of the new book, thank you! It is much appreciated. I hope you enjoyed it. I told my wife, and she has already spent it. Please answer the question about X, R, or PG. Thanks.

Almost all of this story takes place in Saratoga County, NY. Compared to modern Saratoga, 1960s Saratoga is almost unrecognizable. In 1960, the population of the county was 89,096. In 2020, it was 235,509; it is the fastest growing county in the upstate area. In 1960, it was a quiet, rural county. Today it is a thriving high-tech area with lots of suburbs for workers in the Albany region. I lived in Ballston Spa in the 1980s and my son and his family live in Saratoga Springs now. It is yuppie heaven; my wife and I frequently laugh at them. Since I couldn’t come up with an appropriate illustration for the cover page, I used a map of the Saratoga region. It has most of the places referred to in the story.

Many readers might not believe my depiction of a single mother in the early 1960s. All I can say is that it was a radically different time. In TV shows and movies, married couples had separate beds. The 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy was radically modern when Lucy was shown as pregnant; the only previous on-screen pregnancy was in the 1940s, when television ownership was very low.

The stigma I depict was quite common. Abortions were illegal, though ‘back alley’ abortions might be available, though extremely dangerous. Much more common was sending pregnant daughters off to distant relatives where they would live while hiding and then give the baby up for adoption. Raising a baby at home with your parents was an invitation to becoming a social pariah. If they were in school when they became pregnant, they were summarily kicked out as bad influences.

In the early 1960s, birth control was much more restricted. It was illegal for a doctor to write a prescription for women under the age of 21 without a parent’s consent. The Comstock Act prohibited advertising of birth control. Unmarried sex was illegal, so some states prohibited the sale of birth control (both the pill and condoms) to unmarried people. There are reports that some single women would borrow a wedding ring when they went to their doctor for birth control.

Enjoy!