MICHAEL J. LACIVITA Feedback makes writing worthwhile

At 80 years of age, I recently had my first book published, "Rag Man, Rag Man." It is a non-fiction reality trip through my life and has been a great experience, especially the book signings. Many feel the signature adds to the book.
I have received interesting feedback. A nice lady named Joanie Farmer from the East High School class of 1956 called and left this message on my answer machine, "If you are the person who wrote 'Rag Man, Rag Man,' it's wonderful. Thank you for writing it." That compliment was a real pepper upper.
At a book signing at St. Patrick Church in Youngstown, my good friend Henry was there. I asked him if he was going to buy a book. His reply, "No, because I have a complete file of all your Vindicator columns, alongside a file on Mike Royko." He made my day.
New appreciation
A ninth grade English teacher, Mrs. Cathy Anderson at Boardman High School, read my book and requested that I speak to two of her classes regarding my chapter on the Great Depression. I received over 50 interesting comments from the students, such as, "Your talking to us was a wonderful experience I might have never had." Another said, "Thank you for a great life lesson! You taught me to appreciate what I have."
In the spring I will be sharing my World War II experiences with three of her sophomore classes.
"Rag Man, Rag Man" focuses heavily on both of these subjects, because they are survival eras that should not be forgotten. A card from senior citizen Marie Appugliese expresses this thought, "Thank you for a beautiful walk down Memory Lane."
A letter from Naples, Fla., from the son and daughter-in-law of a former U.S.S LST 582, World War II Navy shipmate of mine, David Layton, now deceased, comments on my book. Tom and Peggy Layton wrote, "We enjoyed reading your book 'Rag Man, Rag Man.' You covered a lot of topics from management to garage sales to photography. It's a treasure of useful information. We especially liked your accounts of life aboard LST 582 during WW II. Looking forward to your next book."
X Michael J. Lacivita is a Youngstown retiree, a writer, a photographer and an inductee into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame.