I have had a crazy hard time reading lately (though truthfully, the baby + toddler + two more means I’ve had a crazy hard time doing anything lately), but I did manage to complete one book: A Levittown Legacy: 1960 Little League Baseball World Champions.
I’m admittedly fairly biased as my dad wrote it. The story centers around the group of scrappy 11- and 12-year-olds from the new (as of 1960) Philadelphia suburb of Levittown. As is probably obvious from the title, they go on to become that year’s Little League World Champions, defeating Fort Worth after a string of other opponents.
For me, though, the best thing about the book is getting a glimpse into my dad’s past. I’ve been nagging him to write a memoir (and would still love him to do so), and this story sometimes veers away from the Little Leaguers and into my dad’s own history. The book talks about his family, while also espousing the “Levittown Legacy”—the ingrained beliefs that success comes from hard work, high goals and competition—and how it influenced him throughout his life, from a kid playing sports, to earning a football scholarship, to getting into the world of banking and finance.
For the book, my dad reconnected with a lot of the old players and cheerleaders. He’d researched it over the course of the past two years, and often did read-a-louds for my siblings and me whenever we were together. Because of that, my daughters have also heard a lot of the book and, through it, some family history. At least enough so that when I mentioned that my grandmother had once sang with Frank Sinatra, my 9-year-old rolled her eyes and said, “I know, it’s in Chapter 2.”
Anyway, if anyone on the interwebs is looking for a read, A Levittown Legacy can be found at www.levittownlegacy.com or on amazon. Enjoy!
Tahoe Quarterly’s Winter issue came out a few weeks ago and it looks great! I wrote an article about Tahoe City artist Karey Dodge, who is reviving Lake Tahoe’s traditional art of basket weaving. Her works are beautiful, and she often incorporates unique rocks and gemstones into her creations.
TQ’s Ski & Ride 2018 issue is on stands now! I wrote a story about Tahoe’s literary scene, the focal point of which is South Shore’s Bona Fide Books. I love the concept of this company: Founded in the spirit of art and community, Bona Fide is a small press that specializes in place-based nonfiction. Bona Fide recently released Permanent Vacation II, relating stories from those who have worked or lived in America’s national parks. It’s a great read, with stories that range from funny to heart-wrenching and are set in backdrops from the Everglades to Hawaii and Yellowstone to Denali.
Alison O. Bender 