A Penny Saved Is A Start . . . - Valentini, Richard

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Résumé :
In the late sixties and early seventies, a whole wacky world existed that most of us have never heard of: the workers who kept the summer beaches and parks of Connecticut beautiful. Rich Valentini was at the bottom of that food chain: a campground janitor, outhouse cleaner extraordinaire, garbage can dumper, idiot sticker, and overall gopher for the tasks no one else wanted to do. A Penny Saved is a Start is a coming-of-age memoir that shares the lessons one teenage boy learns on Rocky Neck State Park beach, both good and bad. Growing up, falling in love, getting rejected, and being taught all about life from a succession of fellow workers. All of this is told with the humorous perspective of an adult looking back on the most memorable time of his life. This feel-good book reflects an era long gone, but not so different than today. Establishing your identity as a young adult involved working hard, taking responsibility for your actions, and learning to deal with coworkers...but all without a cell phone, the internet, or social media. It's a light, enjoyable read for anyone who lived through those times, and for young people who are growing up in a very different world.

Biographie:
Richard Valentini lives in northern California but originally is from Connecticut. The US Air Force brought him to the Yuba City area in the 1970's. He was trained as a war skill medic and had a clearance for many military matters. As a child he sometimes lived in public housing projects and by the age of ten helped his family as a paperboy, delivering 220 newspapers a day. This experience taught him from an early age what it was like for some people to struggle with earning a living. In some ways he was a lot like Beth, the girl in his story, wanting some things but understanding life's limitations and learning to share. He also learned not to judge people by what they had or didn't have and that sometimes not having a whole lot of material items, really didn't actually matter and made you a better person. Early in his life he learned to appreciate what he had and to be grateful for what he was given. Rich became a Special Ed teacher. He has a Master's Degree in Special Education, with teaching credentials in Special Education, Social Science and Math. He has worked with teenagers for almost fifty-two years and still tutors in mathematics, part time, at a local charter school. Rich enjoys writing stories, poetry and plays. Beth and Noelle the Fir Tree will be his third published book. Rich also plays tennis and pickle ball whenever he can. He and his wife Alice have a small cottage in Madison, Connecticut and travel there during the summer season....