Pop's Short Stories - Tapa blanda

Each of these stories as told here ... is based on actual experiences or from stories told to me by my father - growing up on the same farm, in rural Maryland. My intention is to impress you with content - not verbosity, so there is very little "fluff." Within each story you will find a smile, a lesson, a moral, and an education about something you hadn't thought about. What is a Picker Check? What is a Migrant worker? What is a Milk Bottle? I would encourage you to read these stories aloud to any youngsters in your life. I even had one reader tell me that he enjoyed reading them aloud to his wife. This is a quick read, but I hope you fine it an enjoyable journey into the not so distant past. Thom

Thom Shipley comes to professional writing after several careers in which his technical and informative writing skills were critically honed. His education and occupations range from Beef Production to Symphonic Conducting; from owner/operator of a successful Child Development Center to concurrently owning and operating an Assisted Living Facility for the elderly and mentally infirmed. Thom’s first career in Education ranged from being an Elementary School Instrumental Music Instructor, to Director of IT, through the ranks to Acting as Assistant Superintend of Schools for one of the nation’s top State Departments of Education. After retiring from his second career as Executive Director of a billion-dollar federal education association program on Capitol Hill, Thom built custom homes and log cabins, served as the Chair of a County Planning and Zoning Commission, directed ecumenical church choir cantatas, was guest conductor for high school and college musicals and concert performances, and was a 4-H counselor. More recently, as a “rusty musician,” he played and sang with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Thom and his partner have completely restored and beautifully decorated a stone-front Victorian row home in Baltimore's Cultural District. He is working on another short story compilation that reflects his life experiences, a book to be called The Narrowing of the Colored and White Chasm: 1940- 1970, and an academic text on The Revitalization of the American Classroom. Thom can be at reached at "thomshipleybooks@hotmail.com" Thomas R. Shipley, Ed.D.