Gerry Mandel: A Few Words Before I Go, Kartoniert / Broschiert

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You might call this a summing up or clearing out of literary items in the basement and attic of my mind. They are a variety of stories and reflections I have written over the years. Make that decades. I have had to dig deep into some of my file folders to rescue them. They are, I believe, worth saving and - for you - worth reading. But that's for you to decide.

Here are essays, short stories, short plays, profiles, flights of imagination, dedications, and even a humorous letter. They have all found a final nesting place within these pages.

I assembled these pieces from September through November, 2025, shortly after my 90th birthday. I pretty much emptied all the bins, discarding those pieces that had not improved with age and deserved no further exposure. I thought I had pretty much rescued my best writings in a previously published book, "Selected Writings," in 2021. As good as those were, I realized there were other pieces I had written, maybe no better, but worthy of preservation and exposure, at least in my opinion. Hence, the book you are holding in your hands.

Funny thing about writing. It needs readers. Sure, it feels good to get something down on paper for a writer - or in your laptop - but that's only half the journey. The next part, the most difficult part for me, is finding readers. Doesn't have to be a lot of them. Just a few who might say, "I enjoyed it" or "You touched me" or "That was really funny." Like a painter who needs a viewer or an actor who needs an audience.

Writing is a pretty lonely business. It's me and the page. That's it. Maybe some music in the background. But truth of the matter, it all takes place in my mind. Worlds are created there, characters and conversations emerge from unexpected places. I often end up somewhere that was not my intended destination. I have written in a notebook with a ballpoint pen, scratched ideas on a random piece of paper with a pencil, jotted a note in a small notebook I carry in my rear pocket, sat at a desk at home, or at a table on the deck, and written. And rewritten. Always alone with my imagination.

Here's a wonderful quote by Ray Bradbury. He wrote science-fiction and fantasy, and was one of my all-time favorite authors. His books and short stories live inside of me, and have since I first read a story by him when I was in junior high school. Here's what Ray had to say about writers:

"Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the wall all day. Others are called writers and they pretty much do the same thing."

I hope you enjoy the "Few Words" in this book. I don't anticipate a third volume. Time keeps moving on all of us. The older you get, the faster it moves, or so it seems. Eventually it runs out, as it must. To be honest, I'm not ready to leave. I love the life I'm living. As long as I can steer clear of the dreaded and myriad pitfalls that can cast a shadow over my days and nights.

I keep the following thought posted on my wall, where I see it every day. I share it with you as words to live by, regardless of your age.

"I will look upon this day as a gift, not to be squandered."