When I Was Young

About the Book

     In today’s world, with soaring fuel prices, increased environmental disasters and rising climate temperatures, it’s reassuring to know we still have the ability to experience and enjoy the simplicity and solitude of nature. Whether it’s a walk in the local park or a family camping outing, the opportunity is available.

The lyrics of this story were created years before the Exxon Valdez tanker oil spill on the Prince William Sound off the Alaskan coast and our latest environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico now impacting the Southern coastline. Although, for the average person, it seems impossible to negate large tragedies of this magnitude, we can however become positive role models starting at home as parents and educators, setting examples, teaching responsible conservation, while pointing out improper behaviors. Everyone knows that one neighbor idling his or her car for minutes before work to have that instant warm ride to work, or has followed behind the person who throws his fast food bag out of the car window instead of placing it in a proper trash bin.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The human race, finally recognizing the delicate balance between coexisting and devastating our natural surrounding, is acknowledging and take some responsibility for the negative impact current civilization has caused the environment. The story is told through the eyes of a person revisiting past childhood adventures. Starting with a short story, he introduces his character to the reader and then the reader proceeds to visit all four seasons with him as he shares favorite times along life’s journey.

About the Author

    The Author lives in a rural town in the lower Hudson Valley of New York State at the foothills of the Catskill Mountains with wife and his four children. After graduating from Springfield College in 1979, receiving a B.S. degree in Physical Education with a minor in Mathematics, he has run a successful carpentry business for over thirty years. Verses from the book were taken from a poem he created, years ago before global warming and ocean oil spill disasters became such a relevant topic, as a submission to a local newspaper. Later adding his own illustrations, giving the book an earthy, folk art feel, he created a picture book for his own children. The objective of the book is for children to learn animal and plant names, while discussing problems, ideas and possible solutions, in an attempt for future generations to correct, maintain and preserve our natural resources and environment