Some entries from the ongoing Sabella Common Book:

I remember where I was when I heard that JFK was shot but not when I heard that Richard Nixon resigned.

When you grow up one of four brothers, you naturally learn to be very competitive at a young age.

Somewhat surprisingly for a lifelong lover of science fiction, I have never had much interest in the space program.

I started reading comic books with Tales of the Unexpected before drifting into superheroes such as Green Lantern and Justice League of America.

When I was a boy I frequently walked several miles to the public library to take out books with little spaceships on their spines.

Most of my friends and brothers wanted to be athletes when they grew up; I always wanted to be a writer.

Jimmy Carter was probably the finest person to be president of the U.S. in my lifetime; unfortunately, he was probably the least-qualified president until George W. Bush.

I look favorably upon Italian-American celebrities such as old-timers Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio or recent celebrities such as Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino.

I never hero-worshipped movie stars or athletes as a youth, preferring musicians and writers.

My list of favorite musicians started with Dion and progressed through the Dave Clark 5, Moody Blues, Bruce Springsteen, Chris de Burgh, and Richard Thompson.

My list of favorite writers began with Clifford D. Simak and progressed through Robert Silverberg, Michael Bishop and Andrea Barrett.

It is a good thing that I can teach, since I was a complete failure at the career I really wanted to pursue as a writer.

To be continued...