rlfj: Blog

My wife and I have similar shirts as the ones Hersch and Judy wore on their cruise, though ours specify, “Annoying Each Other Since 1978 And Still Haven’t Killed Each Other!” Our children are so embarrassed, but we don’t care. Like our fictional protagonist, I gave my wife hers on a cruise, and we got a lot of smiles and congratulations. We had a nephew help us with Photoshop. Art imitating life, or something like that.

For those who have bought the book, you will note some changes in Chapters 12 and 13. The reason is that when I was doing a last minute review before creating the html files I was noticing some timeline problems. For one thing, it doesn’t take two days to sail from Miami to Grand Cayman. I needed to do a rewrite, not in anything of substance, but just to make it flow better. I will be updating the books at the end of it.

Special thanks to Dm3ntd2 and PolyOldFart2 for finding a few errors and bad word choices in earlier chapters. Fixed. When this is done, the books will be updated.

Many thanks to all who responded to my request for assistance on dating apps in an upcoming story. (PS: You can stop sending me info now.) I got quite a few responses, and they definitely guided me in my writing. I am moving that chapter in a different direction now, but I am using what I received.

Enjoy!

To my wonderful readers – I need assistance! I am working on a new story, and in one chapter a 59-year-old widow is urged to get back into the dating scene via an app. I know there are several such apps, such as eHarmony and SilverSingles, but only because they advertise on television. I’m 69, as is my wife, and one of our most common jokes is we can’t get divorced because who would take either of us!

Here’s what I need. Only respond if you have knowledge of one of these apps. Which apps are the best? How do they work? Do you fill out a questionnaire? Simply set up a filter and then swipe left or right? What happens next? Do you text? Do you meet? Is it simply for sex hookups or for real romance?

Thanks!

The reference to The Newlywed Game is legitimate. You can find it on YouTube and other spots on the Internet. It occurred in 1977.

Otherwise, the chapter includes a few important elements, which you should appreciate.

Enjoy!

In Chapter 9, I referred to Judy getting her Regents Diploma. At the time, New York had a two-tier high school diploma system. You had the regular New York High School Diploma, but then you had a higher-rated diploma, with special tests and grades, which gave you what was called a Regents Diploma. When I went to RPI and moved into the freshmen dorms (and it was all freshmen in the dorms then) we would talk about our lives back home. About half of us were New York residents, and they all bragged they had Regents Diplomas. The rest of us, from out of state, had no idea what they were talking about; we just had regular diplomas and that seemed to be good enough for our states. As far as I know, New York was the only state with this system, but I could be wrong on that. Since then, they have changed the New York rules several times, and now California has a two-tier system. Very odd to a Maryland boy.

When I wrote this story, I let my wife know that I had a new hero, one as great as Carl Buckman or the Grim Reaper. He was young, handsome, brave, hunky, and wonderful! He was…a snowplow driver! She was not amused. They are not her favorite people. They are either not doing a good enough job, getting in the way when she is driving, moving too slow, or not plowing when she wants them to. Endless complaints! She has obviously never met Hersch Caparelli.

Would NYSDOT have used Hersch for an employment campaign? Possibly. In 1983 there would have been a lot of World War II and Korean War vets retiring from blue collar jobs. A lot of employers would be looking to replace them, and it was also the case that high schools would have been telling kids to go to college, whether they liked it or not.

Enjoy!

A major rewrite was required related to driver’s licenses. One of my readers informed me that the current CDL, Commercial Driver’s License, system was created after the events of most of this story, following the passage of the federal Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986. This changed the regulations on commercial trucking from a state-by-state system to a federal system. Before then, if a driver was caught with a DUI or multiple speeding tickets, he could go to another state and get a clean license; some drivers would have a wallet full of licenses. What is now considered a CDL B would have been considered a NYS Class 3 license. I am rewriting every section to make sure I get it correct.

I am reloading Chapters 6 and 9. At the end, I will be updating the bookapy versions.

Thank you, ronpea.