My Past Writings

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

I was searching for something to write about this week, but did not find anything that just jumped out at me. I did find a little tid-bit that was a little bit interesting. Above in one of the poems I wroteDuring this period, back in 1964, I wrote in my journal about the art of writing and reflected upon my entries in "A Million Tomorrows...(Memories of the Class of '64)". 

By the time I was seventeen years old, I had discovered that I could write poems.  That was not an unusual talent and many people could do likewise.  I suppose that if there is one talent common to a lot of high schoolers, as stupid as it sounds, it is poetry.  Some wrote poems for school, others for love.  I guess I did both.  I had been writing poems since the third grade when I wrote one for a contest, and my teacher sent it to the "Weekly Reader."  It was a springtime poem, and she always said that it was sent in the wrong season to have been printed, but the chance of such a publication was exciting and encouraged me.  In junior high and high school, the poems became easier and usually I slipped a bit of humor into them, often with great success.  It was my poetry that was my first "in" with the journalism sponsor (Mrs. Parks).  She was an English teacher at the time, and I wrote a parody of "I Must Go Down to the Sea Again."  I wanted to go down to the pond, the muddy pond and the frogs.  She thought it was great and when she was selected to sponsor the newspaper I was her first draft choice.  I had an easy outlet for most of my works in the newspaper, and I had the dream that one day I would publish a book of my poetry.  It was a dream that has yet to materialize, but seemed not too ambitious a project, even for a high schooler. 

As of yet I have not published a book of poetry; however, I have published other books. Today I have 17 books I have written or contributed to listed on Amazon. And, although I have not published my own poetry book, I have assisted and helped publish three poetry and eight other books for fellow writers. A couple of my books are about growing up in Huntsville, and the rest are about my adventures as a crew member in B-52 aircraft. My original intent was to not lose too much money in doing so, but I have actually made more money than ever expected.

Still, I find it odd that the only W2 form I will file for the year of 2025 is for my acting gigs.

The Wayback Machine

"Poetry in Motion" 

Johnny Tillotson

1960

"Poetry in Motion" is a song recorded by Johnny Tillotson and released on Cadence Records in September 1960.Bill Porter supervised the recording session in Nashville, Tennessee, which featured saxophonist Boots Randolph, pianist Floyd Cramer and bassist Floyd "Lightning" Chance. 

Not a lot to write about this week. Looking for some input from some of your readers to help me out.

Last Week's Questions, Answers, And Comments

Jim King, LHS ‘67, "It is o.k. to rollerskate for us; but I have these gigantic elbow pads, knee pads, hand pads, and they make a great butt pad."