About two years ago I started churning out columns for my hometown newspaper. A couple times a month, The Salem News would feature my content. They were all stories of small town life — stories I lived, still cherish and learned from. I really have enjoyed keeping this connection with the people of Salem.

A few months back I realized I’d composed enough stories to justify collecting them into a more substantial format. Add to that my tradition of giving most of my book profits over the years to our nonprofit organization, and I had what I thought was a nifty idea:

I’ve compiled about 40-50 of my columns into my latest book, The Football Field is Not For Sale: Some Small Town Stories, and all the proceeds will go to a Salem-based charity, TBA in 2019. You can snag a copy on Amazon in both print and Kindle formats.

Whether or not you grew up in a small town, I’ll bet you like some of these stories. Others you won’t like…you’ll just skim them real fast to get on with it. Or, maybe you’ll just put this book on your night stand and never read it, moving it to a shelf in a few months along with the other books you bought but never read, like I do sometimes.

At least we look intellectual with all those books around the house, right?

I’d love it if you’d make a purchase and support the town that made and supported me. If I’ve ever done any good in my life, it’s in no small part to the community where I was raised. Consider this book one long thank you note to my hometown of Salem.

Thanks for reading.