Introduction to “It’s A Wonderful World”

Here’s a little teaser for those who are waiting for the first installment of my dad’s book, “It’s A Wonderful World”. Dad wrote this as an introduction. I hope to post the first installment tomorrow, Friday, 2/17/17.

Enjoy,

David T.

Dear Readers,

I’m a reporter. I get my thrills by sticking my nose into other people’s business and letting the world know about it.

For 42 years I worked at The Detroit News as a general assignment and suburban-beat reporter, real estate editor, urban affairs writer, county government, courts, Detroit city hall reporter and rewrite man.

I retired from this wonderful job in 1991.

A dozen years later I spotted a story in the County Press of Lapeer County saying there was a need for a weekly columnist and inviting tryouts. I sent in three trial columns and Editor Mark Haney asked me to join the staff.

For the first time in my checkered career I was able to put a little of myself into a story rather than write what others think.

People I meet shopping, at church, at dinners and at the Lapeer Community Center gymnasium say they enjoy what I write. Some even asked me to compile the columns for them.

This is what this book is; a compilation of thirty-one of the columns that have appeared in the County Press. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I have enjoyed writing them. – Don Tschirhart

Here’s part of the Hotsheet Form from the publisher that dad was working with (This looks odd but is readable. I don’t know how to fix it . . . Sorry . . .):

*Title:*	It’s a Wonderful World
*Author:*	Don Tschirhart
*Fiction or Nonfiction:*	Non-fiction.
*No. Of Words.*	24,740
Genre, Keywords & Market Focus. If for children, put grade focus.	Compilation of columns. Doesn’t fit any single genre. Maybe contemporary culture, humor or memoirs. Market focus would be easy, simple, general reading.
*Synopsis:*	It’s a Wonderful World is a compilation of columns that portray life as humorous, thoughtful, comical, educational and inspirational with human emotions laid out for all to see. There is a story of a drunk who ends his life a winner, essays on time, travel adventures, a no-news day at a newspaper, the wonders of love and marriage. There are stories of the death of an ordinary riding horse, a mom giving a kidney to her daughter and what is in the dash between numbers on cemetery grave stones. A column shows the importance of grandparents, gives lessons from Rudyard Kipling and describes erratic emotions when someone learns they have cancer. It is light reading entertainment at its best about people. If you look closely, readers may find themselves.
*Author Bio:*	Don Tschirhart was born in Canada and raised in mid-town Detroit. After an 18-month stint in the U.S. Army Signal Corps after World War II, Don attended the University of Detroit night school where he earned a Ph.B degree in History and English. While at school he worked first as a copy boy and then as a reporter for The Detroit News. In his 42 years at The News, Don covered nearly all the news beats – police, suburbs, schools, urban affairs, city, county and federal courts and Detroit city government. He also was associate real estate editor and worked the rewrite desk. He retired from The News in 1991 and is now a weekly columnist for the County Press in Lapeer County where the columns in this book first appeared. He lives with his wife, Marjorie, in Imlay City, Mi. They have 17 grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
*Other:*	Top Real Estate Feature Story by the National Association of Real Estate in the late 1960s.