“Hey Maria, you wanna write a book with me?”
“OK, Greek. Why not…”

This was pretty much how we got started looking back over a combined sixty-five years of teaching high school and chronicling our adventures. Most of these have been personally observed or experienced; some have been contributed by colleagues. Everything is authentic, but the names have been changed to protect the guilty.

One of the things that attracted us to teaching is that every day is different, and the unexpected is all part of dealing with the creatures that have passed through the school doors over the years : adolescents, adults, and everyone in between. That’s how we put this together. There is no theme, per se, but there are scores of ideas and anecdotes that form the tapestry of an American high school.

We could be wrong, but there doesn’t seem to be another book about schools that is as varied in its content as ours. Hitler, dog feces, Marcus Aurelius, tampons, the Odyssey - and hundreds of other bits and pieces are scattered across the pages. We hope you like it!

Sincerely,
Maria and Nick
(aka the Sicilian and the Greek…)

“Hey, Maria, do you think that they really will like it?”
“Well, they’ll have to read it first, won’t they!”

A man searches for twenty-five years to find the eyes which had created an obsession in his life, and then ultimately must decide whether to continue into the future or go back to his teenage years.

CHRISTMAS EYES is a modern love story based on – yes – a woman’s eyes that pretty much dominated Nick’s life since he first saw them in a bookstore on Christmas Eve. Over the next quarter century he has many “near misses,” or at least that’s what he thinks. The moment of truth emerges in the very same bookstore, which he now owns. But what is the truth, and what should he do?

The story is based on real people, real emotions, and the most beautiful eyes the author has ever seen.

Why would Hitler send a letter to Lou Gehrig?

This question is at the center of a riddle for Nick Pappas, whose supposedly reclusive great uncle posthumously claimed to be a sportswriter and spy. Pursued by beautiful female agents and a crazed antique dealer, Nick, a mild mannered school teacher, must assume the persona of James Bond as he and his best friend set out on to find the truth.

A LETTER FROM HITLER(35,000 words) is a tongue in cheek look at Nick’s adventures. Based on real life reclusive uncle, and actual events(the 1936 Olympics, World War II, the Cold War), the novel is an easy read and should resonate with anyone who has longed to escape everyday life and do something exciting.

Life has become a daily struggle for the Baxters, not the “happily ever after” they were looking forward to. Instead of the next great American author, Tom is just another writer on the local paper. Janet’s “temporary” part time job has turned into a permanent job, and she feels trapped. They are still living in the same house, the kids are constantly fighting , and she and Tom always seem to be at each other’s throats. But her main frustration is living in the shadow of her mother, who raised four kids of her own apparently without breaking a sweat.

Though her mother seems at times to be losing it(she keeps missing Janet’s attempts to call because she can’t work her cell phone –which she blames on her arthritis) Janet is determined to talk with her. They finally get together Thanksgiving Eve, and Janet bares her soul, telling her mother how depressed she is, and wondering how things came so easily for her. Grandma says she wishes someone had told her life was easy, but they never finish their talk.

About two weeks later an early Christmas gift for Janet arrives in the mail: her mother’s diary, with a note saying that since they didn’t finish their talk, perhaps this would help.

Janet is sure it is filled with her mother’s “Shining Moments,” but as she reads the entries, she finds that, among other things, her mother hated her in-laws and had many drawn out battles with Janet’s father. She realizes her Mom’s life was not the walk in the park she thought it had been .

Everyone is together on Christmas Eve, and Janet’s life seems to be on the mend. She tells her mother that the diary saved her by showing her that nothing is easy, nor is it supposed to be. Grandma says Janet would have discovered this truth anyway, and she just gave her a little push. Molly asks for a word with Grandma, whose arthritis appears to be acting up. Molly says Grandma’s hands are hurting because the diary was a phony, written over the last few weeks. Grandma denies it, but Molly points out that the company that made it had only been in business for less than ten years . Grandma admits Molly is right, and asks if she is going to rat her out over “an honest lie.” Molly shakes her head and smiles as they high five and hug, while in the background IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE begins on TV…

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