Spanning seven decades from his 1940s childhood in Rochester, New York, to his retirement in Southern California, "Sleeping with Lumbago" documents the events and experiences of author Sam R. Culotta's life. He recalls his Catholic school days, his family's migration west, his teens, his military service, and, most notably, the dynamics of his Sicilian-American family.

With his signature sardonic wit and good-natured criticism, he takes on nuns, schoolmates, friends, and neighbors as well as more than a few professions, religious institutions, social conventions and, of course, himself. In the story "And Then There Were Two," Culotta discusses the unusual and embarrassing discovery made during a physical exam at his Catholic elementary school when he was in sixth grade. "Caution: Friends May Be Dangerous to Your Health" describes a narrow escape from injury, accident, and mayhem when his buddy Don pulls a dangerous stunt in his 1949 Mercury.

"Sleeping with Lumbago" presents a collection of humorous personal essays that document the unexceptional life of an unexceptional man with an exceptional amount of wit and discontent.

A book about absolutely nothing at all. A novel that isn't about any subject at all including fiction, nonfiction, fantasy or anything else that could be written about. This book is solely for entertainment and a conversation piece. Please do not take it seriously.

More wit and humor from the author of "Over the Hill Without a Paddle: And Other Signs of Confusion in a New Millennium," This time he gives us his skewed take and observations on everything with titles from A to Z - except for nine letters in between that apparently aren't that funny - and including the numbers One, Two, Three, and the words First and Second. Check it out. Among the subjects that catch his fancy are wives, husbands, children, grandchildren, doctors, hornets, birds, ants, dogs, morticians and sex. He pitches shows to TV programmers, points out a shortcut to young men in the back seats of cars, and scrutinizes both Family Jewels and Amazon Undies. All of which - and more - go to prove that even someone who has inched his way over the hill and then rolled down the other side can still find plenty to look at if he just lands facing up.

Most of Shorty's time was spent galloping through fields and jumping fences. That was the only world he knew and he was quite content with it.

Then a tragic accident happened, leaving him lame and scarred, which turned his world upside down. Abandoned, he was left outside, cold and hungry, feeling sad and lonely. He endured a heartbreaking and abusive life until it got to the point where he didn't want to continue this life he was living any more.

It was at that point when a strange man came and rescued Shorty and took him to a home of a family with children who loved him and thought he was beautiful, regardless of his scars and lame leg. His life would now be filled with all kinds of friends, of love, laughter, sadness and tears. This is the story about Shorty's life on the farm.

Learn everything you need to communicate with your furry friend! Why do dogs behave the way they do? What makes one breed so different to another? And how can owners work around these inborn personality traits? Talk to Your Dog will teach you everything you need to build an even stronger relationship with your canine companion. Find out where, when and why they want to be stroked, and how to give them a soothing reiki massage. Heart-warming, enlightening and absolutely true stories reveal how dogs use their unique powers to help humans, including warning them of danger, going to their rescue and playing a role in healing them. Uncover dogs' ‘secret agenda’ and what they would do if left to their own devices. Whether your pet is a lovable mutt or an aristocratic pedigree, it's worth taking the time to get to know these magical creatures.

I was surprised when a friend told me he wasn't aware that St. Bernard had ever had a college. After thinking about it for a moment, I realized it had been almost thirty years since St. Bernard College closed its doors. That was what motivated me to write a book about my experience there. I attended St. Bernard College from August 1966 until May 1970. It was a time when St. Bernard College strived with attendance peeking during those years. Also of significance, various sports were putting St. Bernard on the map. The 1967-68 basketball team was outstanding, winning their conference championship in one of the highest scoring games in conference history. In writing the book, I mention many other things that went on there, including campus activities, other sports and the professors, priests and students of the college. The book emphasizes two primary things: that outstanding basketball team of 1967-68 of which I was a member, and the influence Coach Charles Richard had on his athletes, students and the college itself. You will take a walk down memory lane as you read about what it was like at St. Bernard College in the late Sixties.

Grassroots Clippings from Oklahoma Green Country is a collection of essays and political commentary in the form of editorial letters appearing in the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise over a period of 12 years. They chronicle the political events of the times, mainly the Clinton presidential years, as seen through the eyes of a diehard Democrat living in a Republican stronghold. Passionately partisan, they present a folk narrative of history for political "junkies."

For those of us who live in America who are not filthy rich or poor enough for the government to take care of, we face many challenges. We are a forgotten majority who work every day, pay taxes and honor our flag. We look to the end of our arm to find a helping hand and look for ways to be productive. It often appears that we are the forgotten few of whom no one speaks. It can make a person feel very lonely. In this volume you will find a number of these important issues discussed at length from the perspective of a common working person. Those who would have you believe they have all knowledge can be very blatant, shrill and even obnoxious in their effort to make their position known. This book has turned that around and used the same tactics in an honest effort to show that there is another side to be considered. The author speaks directly and to the point offering many points of personal experiences and circumstances known to all as means to make point and counter point on these subjects. This book could have easily been seventeen books but the author took the position that writing directly and to the point on each subject leaving out all of the usual chatter makes the book more interesting, more readable and much more direct and enjoyable. This book will make you laugh, think, and wonder. The author has a background of many experiences nearly all of which are those of any working person. He was not only a sheep herder, he was a driver and body guard for President Reagan, a business manager truck driver, organized crime investigator, soldier, Realtor and a hundred other things and he designed engineered and built his own home. What is written here is the writers opinion and it will not always agree with the common beliefs and mores of society---A joy to read.

Advance praise for "Murder at The Grove" Fans of mysteries, especially West Coast-centric mysteries, rejoice The irrepressible and irresistible teenage sleuth Adriana Hofstetter is back, with funny-snarky attitude, 40s wardrobe, hippy-dip but caring mom and BFF Billy Feldman intact, and a puzzling new murder to occupy her summer vacation. This time the scene is L.A.'s super mall, The Grove, with Adriana forced to deal with such alien (to her) contemporary concepts as iPods, YouTube and FaceBook to catch the killer of an Apple Store employee. Put away that new iPhone and enjoy. -Dick Lochte, author of Sleeping Dog and Croaked In Murder at the Grove, occasional teenage gumshoe and always odd duck, Adrianna Hofstetter, is at it again, sticking her quirky nose where it doesn't belong; worrying her mother, fretting her friends (make that friend...just one), irritating the police, and persistently interrogating an array of annoyed suspects about a murder case which everyone insists doesn't exist. But the determined and indefatigable Ms. Hofstetter's skewed sleuthing ferrets out the facts faster than she can wolf down onion rings at a local Hollywood bistro. The clues, characters, and locale are all explored with the same eccentric but affectionate Kimmel whimsey displayed in Murder at Hollywood High and the Benjamin Kritzer trilogy. -Charles Edward Pogue, screenwriter of The Fly and Dragonheart

Onthou jy nog die dae van donkiekarre, negosiewinkels, hanslammers grootmaak en tiekiedraai in die waenhuis? Die dae toe ’n Engelsman nog iets vreemds vir ’n Afrikaanse plaasseun was en ’n man moes kon briewe skryf om ’n nooi te bekoor? Met Daar doer in Duitswes roep Helm Jooste daardie dae met nostalgie en humor in herinnering. Hy vertel met selfspot van sy eie ervarings in onder andere die ou Suidwes: vertellings wat jou terselfdertyd laat lag en met heimwee en deernis vul. Kom dans op maat van die Rooiduin Orkes tot rooidag; skater en bloos oor die lywige Ant Maryntjie en die tandlose Toks – en droom saam met ’n bobaasverteller oor die “se nou maars” en verspeelde kanse in Jessica se blou oe. Verskeie humoristiese vertellinge van Helm Jooste word in hierdie boekie saamgevat. Meeste van die vertellinge handel oor die ou Suidwes.