Life at 12 College Road
Eric Mondschein
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Something or Other Publishing, LLC
Date of Publication: November 15, 2013
ISBN: 0984693831
ASIN: B00MH94J22
Number of pages: 224
Word Count: 49,000
Book Description:
It's not always the earth-shattering events that are most significant in our hectic lives. More often, it's the small things, many long forgotten, that touch and shape us most deeply.
Our memories of these events might bring smiles, or anger, or even a desire to forget. But every one of them helps to make us who we are today-and in some ways, who we will become tomorrow.
Join Eric Mondschein at the unhurried pace of a cup of coffee for a surprising and powerful journey in which laughter inevitably mingles with tears, sorrow turns to joy, and loss almost becomes bearable.
Excerpt 3
Chapter 13: A DISH BEST SERVED COLD
There was a period of time, just before I became a teen, that whenever I was in the den—usually enjoy- ing John Wayne dispatch enemy soldiers, Kirk Doug- las secure the West, or Errol Flynn vanquish pirates on the high seas—my brother would walk right in and immediately turn the channel. Usually to a Yan- kees game.
Inevitably, and nearly every Sunday afternoon, this scene would play out the same way. After Jeff would turn the channel, he would simply sit down. My shock (which diminished the more frequently this occurred) would turn to anger and I would demand that he turn it back to my show. After all, I had been
Having made my demands clear without moving from my chair, Jeff would just look at me and smile. Then, in a voice sure to reach the ears of our mom, he would cry out: “Rick! Stop hitting me! That hurts!”
I wish I were making this up. But alas, that is exactly what he would say. And like an avenging angel, my mom would come swooping in and demand to know why I had assaulted my helpless little brother.
When she got there, Jeff would be holding his arm and whimpering. It was quite a performance, I’ll give him that. I would be told to go to my room.
Oh, the injustice!
Now, when Mom was not there, my brother had a similar ploy, but with a twist. He would come into the room, of course, and turn the channel. But with no parental sympathy to garner, he would walk up and smack me as hard as he could on the arm . . . and then run to the hall bathroom and lock the door.
This went on for quite a while, until one day, when the tables of fortune turned. Dad was away on a business trip. Mom had to run to the store, and told me that I should let Jeff know as much when he came inside. I can still remember smiling as I realized all the possibilities this situation presented.
without me, I left the den and headed to the hall bathroom.
I went in, closed the door, and locked it behind me. Then, I carefully climbed out the window and walked back into the house and into the den.
I didn’t have to wait long. Soon enough, my Mom was. As I told him, he looked at me and grinned a grin that only the wicked can. He walked over to the television and actually said, “See ya, Duke!” Then he switched it to the Yankees–White Sox game, smacked me in the shoulder as hard as he could, and took off for that hall bathroom.
I got up and headed after him, but this time, I did not run in hot pursuit. I walked slowly and deliberately, enjoying each step as I got closer. As I turned the corner and entered that enclosed space with the door to the bathroom dead ahead, there was my brother. He was bent over, whimpering, trying unsuccessfully to open the locked door.
As I approached him, I realized that there was nothing I needed to say or do. I laid my hand on his shoulder, felt him cringe, and said: “I’ll leave you to unlocking the door before Mom gets home. You’ll have to go through the window.” He slowly nodded in agreement.
back to the Duke, just as he and his men destroyed a railroad and supply depot at Newton Station. After that day, I didn’t have to worry about my brother of course.
Dr. Eric S. Mondschein has taught law and education and published and edited numerous articles and books in the field. He has worked for the US government in various capacities and directed an award-winning education program for New York. He was awarded the American Bar Association's Award of Excellence in Law Related Education. He served as an advisor for an international NGO in Haifa, Israel, in external affairs, security, government relations, and human rights. He also served as the citizen representative of The Post Star editorial board in 2009 and 2018.
He is the author of Life at 12 College Road published by Something or Other Publishing, which is a collection of short stories about growing up in America in the 1950s and 60s. He is also the co-author with Ellery M. ‘Rick’ Miller Jr. of Sexual Harassment and Bullying; Similar, But Not The Same, and an accompanying Teaching Supplement published by the Education Law Association in 2015.
He currently resides in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York with his wife, Ginny. They have two grown children Adam and Emily, a son in law, Kamal, a daughter in law, Yaani, and grandchildren, Annie, Nathanael, and Eli.
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