John Sheedy

Jack Sheedy is the author of "Sting of the Heat Bug" and "It Bears Repeating: Twice-Told Tales of John P. Sheedy." He is a feature writer, hard news reporter, essayist and playwright. His honors include awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the New England Newspaper and Press Association; in 2000, his play "Guardrail Nikes," won the Connecticut One-Act Play Festival competition. His articles have appeared in numerous regional and state publications and have been widely syndicated. Sheedy is the News Editor of The Catholic Transcript, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Hartford. He lives in northwestern Connecticut with his wife, the poet and journalist Jean Sands.

1) Visit Ireland.
2) Drive across the United States.

My marriage to Jean Sands, who continues to inspire me to write and to live a good life except when she's not looking.

I used to love to play chess and to act in community theater, but surprisingly the older I get the less time I seem to have for these outlets. I continue to write, however, which was always my first love.

I scratched off my bucket list "Swim in the Pacific Ocean" two years ago. I thought it would be on the West Coast, probably in California, but I got a bonus: it was in Oahu, Hawaii! And it was in December!

Honolulu, if I can ever return.

I'm actually seven feet tall.

Aside from Doyle's Pharmacy? I was a Rah-Rah, so I frequented the Farm Shop more often than Scarpelli's. But it looks like Scarpelli's outlasted both Doyle's and the Farm Shop.

I liked Mr. Wheeler, who taught me a lot about music and encouraged me to enter talent shows that did NOT require musical ability -- because, though I sang in the chorus, I sang badly. I also liked Muff, because -- well, because he is Muff.

As I say in my 2012 memoir "Sting of the Heat Bug," troubles WILL happen that we can neither foresee nor forestall, and the miracles we pray or wish for may not happen the way we want them to. Instead, other, better miracles WILL happen. Keep a sense of humor.