Forks in the Road
Small Town Lives and Lessons
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Much of life is about leaving a legacy, and to leave a legacy, you must engage in lifelong learning, all the while, loving what you do. If there be a model for success in that department, one very distinguished Oswego native stands out as “First in class “. His name is Edward S. Lisk. I am proud to know him, and to call him a friend. Indeed we've got talent, right here in River City! It begins with E and it ends with K , and it’s spelled ED LISK. River City had its mythical music man in the person of Professor Harold Hill, and Oswego has its very own, very real, and very accomplished “Music Man” in Ed Lisk! He not only knows how to play and conduct, but he has been a mentor to many, a musician’s musician, and is truly entitled to be called the “ Leader of the band!” Ed grew up in Oswego in a home where only Polish was spoken. English was his second language, and he learned to play clarinet as a way of being able to express himself, musically, in ways he could not yet do verbally. That would later change dramatically, as he learned to not only express himself musically, but verbally, and with the written word as well, to the point where his written works have become the bible for thousands of band teachers and music educators across the United States,. They read his methods books and articles, and adapt his type of teaching into their own programs. His is a record of remarkable success, emulated widely by other musicians/educators and conductors in dozens of states..
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About the Book
Growing up in the 1950”s and 60”s in a small upstate NY city, the author has interacted with many of the community’s leading lights, and has lots of stories to tell, and reminiscences to share. It could be a book about anywhere USA, and in reading the compendium of columns, the reader will get to know people they don’t know, and will feel as if they did know them. John Sullivan is good at giving eulogies, and good at telling stories, particularly about people he has known and admired. Each brief biographical sketch gives you not only an understanding of the person and their times, but a feel for the contributions their lives made in the overall quality of life in their communities. As a daughter of one of the subjects wrote to the author, “You gave my mother a great gift-recognition for her life’s achievements She was uplifted by your telling of her story, and we are forever grateful to you for putting the cherry on top of her career.” Memories, in the end, are all we have, and the sweeter the memory, the more appreciation there is for lives well lived. There are lots of sweet memories, and life’s lessons learned in this book. The author hopes you enjoy reading about them as much as he enjoyed writing about them.
About the Author
The author, John T. Sullivan Jr., has had a long and distinguished career in law, politics, higher education, and more recently, journalistic punditry. A native of Oswego, N.Y., a small upstate city on Lake Ontario (pop-20,000), he grew up in an area of the city called the “Forks of the Road”, a working class neighborhood close to the harbor area, and later became the Mayor of his hometown (1987-91). He and his late wife Charlotte raised four daughters in a large rambling Victorian house in an upscale Oswego neighborhood, which was in marked contrast to his more modest “Forks of the road” upbringing. This book is the outgrowth of a series of columns he wrote for the local daily newspaper, the Oswego Palladium Times. His monthly column is titled “Forks in the road”. It is a collection of stories about people he knew growing up, and as an adult. Many of these people have been leading lights in the community, and the life lessons learned as a result of interaction with the subjects of his columns are sometimes profound, often amusing, and occasionally inspirational. They are always, at least , very interesting. A practicing attorney for nearly forty years, he taught college level courses in NYS Politics and US government, and Co-Chaired the NYS Democratic Party. He now resides in Saratoga Springs, practicing law on a part time basis. He writes opinion columns for the Albany Times-Union monthly, and has had several columns published in the NY Post, NY Daily News, and Syracuse Post Standard. He was a regular columnist for the Joplin Globe ( Mo.), and the Pittsburg Ks. Morning Sun. He is also the author of an autobiography/Memoir entitled "Pee Not Your Pants! -Memoirs of a small town Mayor with big time ideas” which is scheduled to b e published by Bookfuel publications in May of 2017.