Sitting Duck by Alan Mayer: Rites of Passage in a Life Well Lived

    CHICAGO, IL, March 04, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- In his new collection of short stories, Sitting Duck, 92-year-old author Alan Mayer joyfully rekindles the notion that everyone, if he or she has lived long enough, has built up a collection of memories that serve as rites of passage in a life well lived. In Mayer's able hands, his stories--musings in some cases--recount some of his most meaningful experiences. They are often funny, always wise and poignant, meant to be entertaining while teaching a lesson about what's really important in life.

If there was a literary equivalent of the term "folk art," it would apply to Sitting Duck. Mayer is not a professional writer, and to some degree it shows, but his endearing, personal style makes his stories easily likeable and relatable. He recounts his adventures in a conversational tone, carefully choosing his words and never droning on. He makes sure he gets to the point, but he also leaves in enough detail and emotion to make his stories come alive.

He has vivid memories of events that happened decades ago but they don't feel like old stories. Mayer has remained a vital, contemporary person, even into his nineties and he shares his memories from his twenty-first century perspective. While at times he pines for the days when life was simpler, he never ceases to remind us that life, even in its contemporary complexity, should be an adventure filled with the unexpected, providing lessons that can be learned every day.

"When I was 9 years old we lived in a small town on Long Island. My school was near the business section and closer than our home. I would go to my father's store for lunch rather than walking a mile to our house. The first thing I did when I got to the store was to take a tin pail that held about a quart of liquid and got 10 cents from my father with instructions to go to the local bar (saloon), get it filled with beer and bring it back to my dad.

Now can you imagine that scenario today? A nine year old kid buying beer? In today's world my father would be arrested and I would be placed in protective care."

One of his earlier recollections is being bullied by his schoolmates as a young adolescent. His school's boxing coach convinced him to learn to box so he could take care of himself. Although boxing was one of the furthest things from his mind, he took up the challenge. Over time he became quite skilled and self-confident as a young boxer. The next time he encountered his bullying classmates, he quickly gave them a lesson in humility. Interestingly, Mayer went on to become a semi-pro boxer.

Mayer's central theme in Sitting Duck is that life takes its own course with many unexpected twists and turns. He shares insights into people who made a big difference in his life--some for better, some for worse. He tells of success and failure in the business world; the art of salesmanship; the importance of trust in business relationships; the significance of everyone. He reminisces about his many startup businesses, including a business that he created to provide jobs for developmentally disabled adults. He talks about very personal moments, such as asking his future father-in-law for his daughter's hand. One hilarious story describes his escapade with dying his grey hair black--much to his wife's considerable consternation.

Mayer opens his heart as he recalls the death of his wife, Terry, of 66 years. His first-person account of adjusting to the loss of his soulmate is very personal and touching. Food for thought, one might say.

Another one of Sitting Duck's charms is that the stories are not in chronological order. Mayer remembers things very naturally, as they come to mind.

One is left with gratitude that a fascinating everyman who has lived a full life, at age 92, has the will and ability to put his memories into entertaining form. Usually one hands down stories to one's family. In the case of Alan Mayer, he has handed them down to the whole world to enjoy.

Sitting Duck is self-published. Paperback copies can be purchased online for $14.95 at www.wethepeoplepublishing.com.

About the Author
A resident of Highland Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, Alan Mayer was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1923. When he was a young boy the family moved to Babylon, Long Island, at a time when it was still quite rural. His family owned a butcher shop and although they never wanted for food, he took on many jobs to help out. He worked on the fishing docks and became a semi-pro boxer by the time he was 13.

After graduating high school, Mayer served in the US Air Force during World War II. Upon his return from the war, he married his high school sweetheart and was fortunate enough, with only a high school education, to turn jobs into business opportunities. During the first 30 years of his career he owned 15 companies. For the next 30 years he was a banker in Chicago. Finding artistic expression has also been important to Mayer. He has been a highly regarded sculptor for the past twenty years and his works have been on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. At age 91, Mayer published his first book, The Fix, a boxing story that is part fact, part fiction. Sitting Duck is his second book, and he plans to continue with his newfound vocation.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Author Alan Mayer is available for interviews and media appearances. For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Cindy Kurman at Kurman Communications, Inc. by telephone at (312) 651-9000 or by email at [email protected].

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