This month, there are two dates i wished to have a special sale on my book, Steel Decks and Glass Ceilings: An Executive Officer’s Memoir: Veterans Day and Thanksgiving. For that reason, the special will last the month of November.

The cost for a signed copy, including shipping is $15. To purchase one, in the top menu bar, select “Books” and then click on “Steel Decks and Glass Ceilings.” On top there will be a button under the title, “Special Labor Day Sales.” Select that button.

You may use a credit card to pay there, or if you prefer, send me cash or a check, indicating you would like to take advantage of the Labor Day sales opportunity.

This offer is available for the rest of November 2023.

Due to several factors, i now have a number of copies of Steel Decks and Glass Ceilings on hand. I will provide signed copies to those who would like to take advantage of this special opportunity for Labor Day.

The cost for a signed copy, including shipping is $15. To purchase one, in the top menu bar, select “Books” and then click on “Steel Decks and Glass Ceilings.” On top there will be a button under the title, “Special Labor Day Sales.” Select that button.

You may use a credit card to pay there, or if you prefer, send me cash or a check, indicating you would like to take advantage of the Labor Day sales opportunity.

This offer is available from  9/2-9/20 2023. 

When i went on my journey last October, i titled my travel posts “Four Bases., Home Run Replay.”

Silly title. Really silly now that i have touched another base. The reference, then and now, is a reference to baseball. It may have not been my most accomplished sport, but it was certainly the longest, even after bad golf came along. i played sandlot ball from the beginning of memory to the beginning of Little League in Lebanon, then Babe Ruth Ball, then Castle Heights (where the “Pygmy” infield contributed to the Mid-South Conference Championship, to American Legion where we went to the state (and got trounced by Memphis), then to fast pitch softball simultaneously with the Legion and county league ball, then to teams at various Navy commands, and finally in my last tour, becoming a member of the “Royals” in the San Diego Adult Baseball League when i was way over the minimum age of 33.

This is the introduction of another base. And the way, MLB keeps changing the rules to keep fans and get more and make the players and baseball television land happy, AND making more more money, money, money, it just might adopt a rule for a fifth base. After all, they have changed the game so much, it no longer looks like the real baseball i played.

But enough of that lame explanation of the titles.

This trip to promote my book, Steel Decks and Glass Ceilings, was going to two more homes. They would be Austin and College Station, Texas.

i plan to write more in depth about this trip later, but for now, here’s a brief preview:

Yesterday, i spoke to the NROTC midshipmen in the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M. i was the senior Naval Officer there, 1976-1979. While there, one of my numerous assignments was as the military advisor to Company S-2. Many of the current members of S-2 attended my briefing. i showed them a couple of slides from yesteryear, and then got one from yesterday.

There are good feelings and there are bad feelings. This was one of the best.

More later:

Orders for signed copies of my book, Steel Decks and Glass Ceilings, have begun to be requested. Those who requested have received their copies. They have also sparked some super email and Facebook exchanges with those who have placed their orders.

Postal rates are going up on January 16, 2023, including “media mail,” which i use to make it financially reasonable. i will not raise any prices for the signed copies until i learn the new rates.

If you would like to order, you can go the “Books” page above, or start a new page on my website (www.jimjewell.com), select Steel Decks and Glass Ceilings. If you would like a signed copy, click on the first “Buy Now” button. If not, the other “Buy Now” buttons will go to your preferred on line book seller to purchase. The price varies due to bonuses, discounts, etc.

i hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas, Hanukah, and Holiday Season, and a bountiful New Year.

The book tour was over. but there was one more stop before going home. i had reached the fourth base. It is appropriate it was the “home run” of my travels.

i left Newport on a Friday morning, October 21, and drove to Boston. The wonders of talking about my book to wonderful people had me on a high. Boston was time for family.

My brother Joe and his wife, the novelist Carla Neggers, live in Quechee, Vermont. They came to Boston, a familiar trip they make to visit their daughter and son, and their daughter’s family. i stayed at their son Zach’s apartment. They stayed in ordered pandemonium at their daughter’s home with her husband, son Leo, and two young daughters Oona and Niamh.

It was a great three days. We went to soccer games, we ate at wonderful places. Oona and Niev are smart and super active. Leo has reached the teenage stage, and was relative reclusive, but he too is smart and good young man. i was really impressed as to how he and my brother operated together.

All three of the children adore their grandfather and grandmother. Spending time with the family was like watching the good life the way it should be.

Early each morning, Joe would come over to Zach’s place. He would bring pastries from one of his favorite places and the three of us would talk over the pastries and coffee. We watched sports together and just the three of us ate out Sunday evening, my last day there. It was male family and i kept thinking of Daddy, Joe, and i sharing things together.

i should add that Carla, once again, shared her knowledge about the book business with Kate and me — Kate, a history professor at Fitchburg State, has published a book about the growth of industry in the South, Dollars for Dixie, and is in the process of publishing her second book about college radio stations. Carla is a great writer, and her novels are fun reads. She is also wise in many ways, especially when it comes to publishing a book. i know i left with a better understanding of what i need to do and how.

i departed with a touch of sadness because i know how hard it is for folks in the Southwest corner and Northwest corner to get together. The two places are a long way away from each other. i vowed to get back as frequently as i could in the future.

It was almost a perfect end to a fabulous trip for me. i use “almost” because the flight home was one of the longest and uncomfortable days i’ve spent traveling, and i have had some doozy trips in my time traveling.

But the travel was worth it. Thanks, Carla, Kate, Zach, Conor, Leo, Oona, and Nieve. It was a terrific time for me,