Destination Eat Drink

I make a short appearance in this podcast--the best eat/drink/travel podcast around. https://t.co/Me00cUgnlf

— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) July 2, 2021

Free Kicks

With a guest cohost this week, author @PaulMBanks. @fkadamandrick https://t.co/9Ccz76T6zt

— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) July 2, 2021

Joan Esposito

My latest article...

Longtime Chicago news anchor @JoanEspositoCHI has found a home on @WCPT820 in the afternoon, offering a rare nuanced, local voice to political radio. @RickKaempfer interviewed her in his July “Media” column. https://t.co/wTUj1vAuQ2 pic.twitter.com/5q3Yhsvgs3

— Illinois Entertainer (@ie_entertainer) July 1, 2021

Cubs HOFer

160th birthday of John Clarkson. He started 70(!) games for the #Cubs in 1885 and won 53(!) of them, easily the most in the league. He finished with 328 career wins. In 1963, 54 years after his death, John Clarkson was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame. #everyCubever pic.twitter.com/n3CZlOE72f

— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) July 1, 2021

Minutia Men Celebrity Interview

Ever wonder how the food is in #Leavenworth? We talk to #artist #actor and prison food critic @DaveVescio We talk about #Hick, #EddieRedmayne and much more. Listen wherever you enjoy your #podcasts #podernfamily https://t.co/x1l1dOLjDe

— Minutia Men (@MinutiaMen) June 30, 2021

Book Clubs

 

Eckhartz Press: A Book Club’s Best Friend

Posted on Jun. 30, 2021

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As Book Clubs start meeting again, it’s time to revisit the opportunity of having your book club feature an Eckhartz Press book.

How does that work?

Step One: Pick one of the books from our incredible catalog. We have published over 70 books now. Surely one will catch your eye.

Step Two: Contact Eckhartz Press publisher David Stern (david@eckhartzpress.com) to get the special Book Club deal. (You must order at least five copies of a book)

Step Three: Ask for the Book Club discussion points for that particular book (an example of the discussion packet for Bob Boone’s book City U is below).

Step Four: If you’d like the author to appear at your book club via phone, zoom or in person, submit your request. Schedule permitting, the author may join in.

What are you waiting for? Have your book club dive in today.

City U Book-Club-QuestionsDownload

Jocko

Former #Cub Jocko Flynn (1886) was born on this day in the midst of the Civil War. Jocko pitched only one season with the Cubs in 1886 and won 23 games. Then he blew out his arm. He still holds the record for most wins by a pitcher who only pitched one season (23). #everyCubever pic.twitter.com/OrHNUK4CRV

— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) June 30, 2021

Rich King

Dave and I caught up with Eckhartz Press author Rich King yesterday. He is looking great. Stay tuned for possible future projects.

Wicker Park Wishes

Eckhartz Press author Margaret Larkin and her husband Del (the designer of the cover) get their stash of books. Congrats you two! ⁦@metrolingua⁩ Book ships tomorrow for those who preordered. pic.twitter.com/kn7XEbSYQ2

— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) June 30, 2021

Explanation for my lack of posting recently

I'm sorry that I have been posting so infrequently here lately. I'm working on a novel, we have about 10 books coming out at Eckhartz Press, I'm still taping three podcasts a week, and twice a day I have to drop whatever I'm doing for a few hours because of...

It ends on July 11th. I should be back to a more normal schedule after that.

Minutia Men

This week's show includes the officially recognized "best dad joke in the world"...https://t.co/gOOniiAPVS

— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) June 28, 2021

Paul Banks

Got my first galley proof of my new #book this weekend! #BookTwitter #books #Caturday #CatsOfTwitter #author pic.twitter.com/lmLq2HN5Kl

— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) June 27, 2021

Free Kicks

The Euros knock out round begins on Saturday, and this week's episode goes over the matchups. https://t.co/1Stwu2m0gt

— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) June 25, 2021

Minutia Men Celebrity Interview

Hear the story behind how #Vogue model & #war correspondent Lee Miller took a bath in #Hitler's bathtub on the day he killed himself? We talk to renowned photographer and historian Antony Penrose about his mom's extraordinary life. https://t.co/z8zsBAHPVS #podernfamily #podcast pic.twitter.com/UnfClKyBE9

— Minutia Men (@MinutiaMen) June 24, 2021

Paul Banks

Eckhartz Press author Paul Banks appeared on WGN Radio to chat about his new book (available for pre-order now!) https://t.co/9rDZ2ztlhR

— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) June 24, 2021

Back from Vacation!

 It was beautiful but chilly at Lake Superior. Went there for a quick family retreat...(from L-R, me, my sister Cindy, my brother Peter, and my cousin Derek)

A Tribute for Father's Day

One day I sat down to write a column about the inspiration for my column "Father Knows Nothing". I had no idea this is what would come out. I'm re-running it this weekend because Dad's been on my mind a lot lately. I'm working on a novel with a character based on him, and my very strange globehopping childhood. That's a photo of Eckhard. He's been gone now more than half of my life, but he's never left me. Happy Father's Day, Dad.

Losing a parent has a tendency to change your outlook on life. I know it happened to me. When my father died, I was 25. That’s a pretty young age to become fatalistic, but I’ve chosen to look on the bright side of being fatalistic. For one thing, I no longer take things for granted because I know that my time on this earth is limited.

I know this is going to sound bad, but I wish my father had been a little more fatalistic. Of course, it’s totally unfair to say that about a man who walked into a hospital emergency room one day at the age of 54, and never came out again. His mindset was understandable. Both of his parents were still alive when he died. He had no reason to ever think about death. And even if he had, all three of his children were already adults (25, 24, and 19), and he had done a pretty good job of raising relatively normal functional members of society. Why would he bother thinking about what life would be like without him?

I know I’m being greedy here. I realize that. He gave me all he could give...and then some. But now that I’m a father myself, I find myself wanting something I never wanted before. His advice. I always considered Dad to be a source of wisdom, even when I strongly fought against it. He was a reasonable man, a thinker, someone who gave quite a bit of thought to his words before they came out. He wasn’t always right, but he was never rash or emotional. In short, he was the perfect kind of person to ask for advice.

And I never did.

And now that I’m a father myself, I have a million questions.

That’s probably one of the reasons I have so overcompensated with my own boys. I’ve tried to use my father as a model—his steady temperament and his guiding hand, while trying to give them what he couldn’t give me. It’s one of the reasons I’ve decided to stay home and raise them. I’m part of virtually every phase of their lives, and I’m constantly giving them unsolicited advice about every subject under the sun just in case they ever need it someday.

Unfortunately, I don’t quite have the fountain of wisdom my father had. He had knowledge that came from a difficult childhood of emigration and language barriers and hardship that I couldn’t even imagine. You learn things when you experience difficulty—and he must have learned so much. Most of those lessons learned, however, died with him. I didn’t have the foresight to ask about them, and he didn’t have the foresight to commit them to paper.

So I write.

That way, what I know will not go away when I go away. Even if my boys choose to ignore it for most of their lives, I’m fairly confident there will come a time when curiosity will get the best of them, and they will seek out wisdom from their father. When that time comes, there’s a possibility I won’t be around to deliver it in person.

The son spends his life trying to distance himself from his father, trying to make his own way in the world, trying to become a man. There’s nothing wrong with that—it’s part of growing up. I certainly don’t take it personally when my boys ignore my advice and insist on making the same mistakes I made. Some kids just learn better that way. I know I did. But there will come a day when they need me. And I just can’t bear to think that I won’t be there when they do.

So I write.

When they do seek me out, even if I’m not around, my words will still be here, to bring me back to life. They won’t have to wonder what was going through my mind when I was in their shoes--because they can read it. And if they end up having boys just like themselves—and my experience tells me they just might—they can see how and why I did what I did.

Why do I write? I know that part of the audience for every word I write includes three grown men I’ve never met. Three men who may one day want to ask Dad for advice. I only have my time, my love, and my words. I give those with all of my heart.

That’s why I write.

Happy birthday Paul

I think this is the best song he ever wrote...

RIP Frank Bonner

He'll always be Herb Tarlek to me. Sad to hear of his passing today at the age of 79.

Honoring Eriksen

This is incredible. https://t.co/XFPCR4tXc4

— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) June 17, 2021