Middle Schools

10/28/2014

The middle school featured in my next book - The Book that Proves Time Travel Happens - is named after Ambrose Bierce. Bierce was a writer, born in Ohio, and is best remembered for The Devil's Dictionary (1906), which contains such definitions as:

TSETSE FLY, n. An African insect (Glossina morsitans) whose bite is commonly regarded as nature's most efficacious remedy for insomnia, though some patients prefer that of the American novelist (Mendax interminabilis).

The middle school I attended was named after the thirty-fifth U.S. president, and has an historical marker in front of it to remind everybody. The marker celebrates the likelihood that the local Board of Ed could easily win on Jeopardy, by being quicker to the buzzer than the competition.

4 Comments

Shan

11/3/2014 10:27:49 am

At least your middle school was named after someone recognizable. My middle school was named after Hassie K. Gresham, the last principal of the high school formerly housed in the buildings that became my middle school. Here in my part of town, most people who've lived here for any length of time would probably recognize her name for no other reason than the school is named after her. But if you went to the east, west, or south part of the county, the general reaction to Miss Gresham's name would be..."Who?"

But, hey! Kudos for Bethpage being so quick off the mark! AND for putting up the historical marker noting their achievement!

I'm disappointed the new book won't be out till next year. I was really looking forward to the next one and wanted to give it to one of my nephews for Christmas. Alas, I guess it'll just have to be a birthday present.

Henry Clark

11/3/2014 08:52:16 pm

Hi Shan!

My elementary school was simply called Center School, because it was in the center of town. (On the opposite side of the village green from the library; this was rural Connecticut.) I haven't checked, but by now I'm sure it's been renamed in honor of somebody, famous or otherwise. The center of town has to have shifted after all these years.

I asked my publisher if the release date of Time Travel could be moved up to pre-Christmas, and the curt reply was, "only if we had a time machine."

Cheeky.

Thanks for taking the time to write - I appreciate hearing from readers. (I hope your nephew's not too old for the book by the time it comes out!)

From Authors Unlimited Fan

6/28/2015 09:24:15 pm

I really love your books! I enjoyed The Book That Time Travel Happens as much as What We Found Under the Sofa and How It Saved The World. I can't wait for another book!!! Also, I hope to see you at Author's Unlimited next year.
-Mika T.

Henry Clark

6/29/2015 01:29:43 am

Thanks, Mika! I thoroughly enjoyed the 2015 Authors Unlimited event and hope to be invited to the 2016 - in the meantime, I'm plugging away at the next book! Thanks for the kind words, and taking the time to post them - writers love that. (I know I do!)

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Middle Schools

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