I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

  In the United States, Thanksgiving is complete, and we now move into Christmas mode. Black Friday sales began, decorations went up overnight, seasonal cards are being mailed, and I still have a refrigerator full of left over Thanksgiving food, that will last me almost, until Christmas Eve

  This is not the life I envisaged for myself, however, it is the life that I have embraced. It has come at a cost.

  In 2015, a number of great events will take place.

  In February, I will be have been an American resident for ten years. In October, I will have the honor of watching a daughter marry the man she believes in. And if luck comes my way, the trifecta, of having the book accepted.

  I would not be where I am today, without a little help from my friends.

  Anthony, Deb, CD, Judy, Adam, Donna, Kelly, Jeanette, Joe.

For The First Fans

Christmas In Canada has been released and the tour is about to start. On this tour I'll be accompanied by my father, visiting from Australia. The irony of an Australian living in Southern California doing a tour about Christmas in Canada has not been lost

  Book tours are made for a variety of reasons, and in this instance, the book tour is not about my name on the cover, it's about the promotion of the title. 34 authors will meet to take part at the book signing in Toronto on November 4th, I will be one of a few traveling internationally. So why go?

  For the first fans.

  There are fans of "my" writing all over the world, those people who know of, or who found my writing and identified with it. There's my friends who are cheering me on. There's my daughters, some who walk around showing off the book, others who may one day get asked "did your Dad write this?" There's the distant contacts, the ones who know me through someone else. But the ones that I am endeared to the most are those who I should have treated better, and who still cheer for me.

  They are the first fans. Thank you, for your belief.

Christmas in Canada Released

  Chicken Soup for the Soul's latest release Christmas in Canada.

  The irony of an Australian living in Southern California writing about Christmas in Canada has not been lost.

  Tour dates as follows:

  Salt Lake City, Utah:  October 25 (to be confirmed)
  Santee, California:  October 27 (to be confirmed)
  Toronto, Canada:  November 2.

43 Years Waiting to Watch TV With My Father

  In September of 1971, South Sydney won the Sydney Rugby League Grand Final.  I have no recollection of watching the game on television.

  On the first Sunday of October, 1971, Alan Moffatt won the Hardie Ferrode 500, One of my earliest recollections as a child was walking into the living room and seeing my father laying on the floor watching the race. And that's what I did. Armco guard rails, hale bales, spectators on the fence line, and the pits opened directly onto the racing line. And I was hooked on motor racing.

  Over the years, I have been to motor racing events on four continents. I have seen my heroes like Jack Brabham, Nigel Mansell, Juan Pablo Montoya,  and Michael Andrietti race. I have stayed up past midnight to watch live international broadcasts from across the globe, and in those dark hours of my life, it has given me comfort.

 43 years ago was the last time that South Sydney appeared in a Grand Final. With my father in the country, he and I will stay up tonight well past midnight to watch the broadcast from Australia.

  It will be the first time in over 15 years we will have watched a game together. And the winner will be the relationship that a parent has with a child.

Repetitive Irony

I have to think back to when I was a child of age 6 or 7, for the last time I recall my father residing in my house. My mother would tell my brother and I, versions of what happened in their divorce. I had no reason to disbelieve my mother.

  I have to think back to when I was a father of two daughters ages 7 and 2, for the last time I recall residing with my father in his house. As my own marriage was failing, I would learn of what really happened in his divorce. I had no reason to disbelieve my father.

  Friends of my father later confirmed some truths, and my perception of his role as a father was forever altered.

  This week, my father flew from Australia to the United States and will be residing with me for a while. I have one final opportunity to make some memories with him, as I watch the man who was once a giant, struggle.

  His father passed away without him, when his own children were a great distance away.

  History, it appears, is not without repetitive irony. 

Seven Weeks To Yarn Crawl?

  Seven weeks to Yarn Crawl?

  I got no time to knit,  plans must be made

  This year,  I'm bringing some help, fully imported from Australia.