Another Legend Passes
RIP TV legend Betty White, a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday. Born in Illinois, she grew up in California. She was on radio at age eight. She also put in time as a DJ, talk show host and singer, but her real niche was TV. Her screen career spanned 1945–2019. She was on television in 1949. There are 124 titles under her name at IMDb, but that figure does not reflect her total appearances. She was in 177 episodes alone of The Golden Girls, 124 of Hot in Cleveland and 45 of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, as well as several series that lasted a season or less, and she did multiple guests shots on popular prime time fare. She was an ubiquitous presence on game shows. She won five Emmys, two for MTM, one for TGG, one for The John Larroquette Show and one for SNL in 2010, the oldest host ever, 88. Her enthusiasm and positive aura were extraordinary. Although she was adept at drama, her strength was comedy. Awesome, madam. Thank you.
Fodder for sci-fi writers in this foxnews.com headline: “Experts warn of cannibalism among space colonists if food systems fail.”
I’ve decided to cease posting headlines or commentary on Covid. Enough is enough. I hope I stick to it.
Another day of ideal winter temperature for the floating book shop. My thanks to The Quiet Man, who bought three more DVDs: Shark Tale (2004), Jungle Book (1994) and Ice Age (2002); and to Vitaly, who purchased See How They Run by James Patterson; and to the woman who donated a handful of romance novels in Russian; and to the gentleman who parked his pickup and unloaded two Hefty bags worth of books, a third of which I set out in the lobby or designated for recycling. A little hard work never killed anybody — I hope.
I just had a pleasant surprise while doing the floating book shop’s year end tally. For the first time, my own books are profitable as a group, +$84. Given the big hole I was in after the first two were published, attributable not only to inexperience and buying copies but to paying a fee to get them into print, I thought the deficit permanent. Once I learned a writer could self-publish for free, I began whittling away at the red ink. I wish I’d done them all with Amazon, although I’m grateful to those who published Adjustments, A Hitch in Twilight and Exchanges. A writer at my spot on the totem pole is better off going his own way. I assumed control of Exchanges when the publisher passed away and no one responded to my letters. I changed the title to Open Outcries, in a sense hiding it, hoping no one would make a claim. It’s sold only one copy, a Kindle download, since its rebirth.
My Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Vic-Fortezza/e/B002M4NLJE
FB: https://www.facebook.com/Vic-Fortezza-Author-118397641564801/?fref=ts
Read Vic’s Stories, free: http://fictionaut.com/users/vic-fortezza
