THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, February 21, 2020 Page 13 ASKS | FROM PAGE 3 I worked on and slaved over – nothing is easy. It’s love and energy. That’s the big thing. That’s my secret. I tell my kids that forever. Q: How many copies of your books are out there in circulation? A: Who knows. I have no idea. Some of these books, you really can’t tell because you really don’t make a lot of money on them. I might get a $30 check here or a $30 check there. But, it’s no big slam bang. For me, the big thing is seeing them under a cover, bound – even paper bound – but bound with my name on it. It’s out there. If you want to read me, read me. If you don’t … Q: And there are 45 of those babies out there. A: Yeah. Yup. In the wintertime, at this town’s little library, to see my books on the shelves on the shelf; I don’t know how many times they’ve been taken out or how many people have read them. Q: You mentioned that after you got your college degree for Boston College, you went to Raytheon in North Andover for a job interview, and things didn’t look too good; it wasn’t very promising at first. A: I was ready to turn around and leave, and I ran into a BC classmate named Doherty. And he looked up and said, “Tom, you looking for a job? Well, you got one.” And that was it. Q: And then, how long did that last? A: 26 or 27 years, I’m guessing. Writing policies and procedures – that was my whole bag. Q: Writing a lot, I bet. A: Yep. I’d run into the plant manager, and bingo, he’d say we need something. So, I would go out and do some research, go back and do it in handwriting and hand it to the secretary. The day I left Raytheon, seven girls who had typed for me because of my lousy handwriting, with seven carriages, walked by the guard to my car – all paper copies and what not – essentially free printing for me … and the guard smiled at them, turned his back, and I loaded my car up with them. Q: Seven carriages of paper. A: They were like shopping baskets. Q: So that was the day you retired. A: God, that was interesting because a lot of that stuff was handwriting that I had to have typed. Q: You say you never get involved in politics. So you don’t follow what goes on in your town? A: I don’t. I might have gone to two Town Meetings. It’s not really my cup of tea. that are in the works that you are working on now. A: “Death in the Phantom’s End Zone” is about the mix of football and hard knocks it takes to get where you want to go, and what any character goes through making a team. Essentially, that’s it … “Death of a Lottery Foe.” Q: What’s that about? A: I can’t even remember the first word in that book. Q: So, what’s it about? A: Probably, it will be a surprise on me. It will be. Q: What’s the third book? A: “Murder Down Canada THE MEMORY WALL: A collage of family photos attached to the wall in the kitchen/dining room of the 1742 vintage house Thomas Sheehan has lived in since the late 1950s. Q: So, you never really followed Saugus town politics. They used to refer to your town as “The Graveyard of Town Managers because they had such high turnover. A: I probably heard that, but it didn’t stick with me. “The Graveyard of Town Managers.” Wow. Ask me if I can name one. I don’t know if I can. Q: How about the current one, Scott Crabtree? A: Only because I probably had his grandfather as a classmate – I could see their house up there on Lincoln Avenue on the hill. Q: What’s been the most rewarding part of your writing career? A: Getting to 92 and still at it: That’s significant to me. That’s because of good love and energy. It all goes back to that. Q: That’s your motto? A: Yeah – love and energy. That’s a big thing. And my kids all know it. Q: When did that become your motto? A: Probably when I found some adventure in the written word. I’d look at the page and say, “Oh, did I just write that?” And then I would ask myself what the next word is going to be. Q: Please tell me about Art Spinney, one of the most famous athletes who ever played at Saugus High School. I think he was a teammate of yours and went on to play a key role in helping the Baltimore Colts win the NFL championship in what was dubbed “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” That was the game between the Colts and the Giants when Alan Ameche scored the touchdown against the Giants in 1958: the Sudden Death Overtime game that led to Baltimore’s victory and put pro football in the national limelight. A: Sure, Spinney blocked for [Quarterback Johnny] Unitas. He was a tiger. STILL BOOKS TO WRITE: Saugus Author Thomas Sheehan says he still has at least three more books he wants to right, and he’s already begun work on them. Q: And you played with him? A: I played with him in ’43, ’44 [at Saugus High] and in ’50 with the Fort Devens football team, which went undefeated, and we played our last game in Bermuda. Q: The Fort Devens football team? A: Yeah. The Hornets – the Fort Devens Hornets. Q: And that was before he went into the NFL? A: Oh, he was already a pro, and he got drafted and we went in the service together. And then he went back to the pros after his military duty was done. He was a tiger! Oh boy, he was a good one. But the first pass I threw to him, he dropped it in the end zone. I think it was the first pass I ever threw in high school. Q: And he dropped it in the end zone. A: Yep. But he was a tough guy. He was a leader. Q: What would you say the highlight of your writing career is? A: What’s yet to come. Q: What about so far? A: Who knows. I would like to think all of them [the books he has written are good], but they’re not all perfect; they’re not all great. But they’re darn near complete. They took love and energy to get them done. Q: “Love and energy.” That’s a big drive for you, right? A: Yep. Keep it going. Q: Your high school yearbook, “Tontoquonian, 1947,” says you love to write mystery stories. A: Well, that outfit in England saluted me for being the first writer to have 100 stories on their site – called Literally Stories – out of someplace in the United Kingdom. And their reviewers were from around the world. You would send them a copy and they would make copies with copies and send them to their reviewers, and they pass judgement. And I get notes back saying, “Sorry Tom, this one didn’t make it.” But I send it someplace else, and they jump on it. Q: You’re on the computer every day? A: Oh yeah. Q: Is that how you read the newspapers and keep abreast of what’s going on in the world? A: Oh yes – between that and the games on TV – anything on a sports talk show or about sports, which is a great interest of mine. Q: What is your biggest hobby? A: It’s got to be here. This is a devotion. It’s an adventure. When you send something out [a manuscript], you don’t know what’s going to happen. But it is an adventure. Q: Writing is an adventure. A: Oh yes. I just love it. Q: So, were you a straight A student in English? A: Probably. Pretty close. Q: What’s your advice to the people of Saugus? A: Just find what you like and do it. If you got energy, give it the love it deserves – love and energy – it all goes around that little circle of your mind. You knock on wood, too, you know. I got a pacemaker. I know that came into play because they rushed me to the hospital once. Q: Give me a short synopsis of the three books you’ve got Way” – it’s, of course, into hockey – into the sport itself. It’s definitely a hockey book. Q: You’re a big hockey fan? A: Oh yeah. I’m big on all sports. My favorite numbers are 9, 4, 6, 12… Ted Williams (Number 9, Boston Red Sox great), Bobby Orr (Number 4, Boston Bruins hockey legend), Bill Russell (Number 6, Boston Celtics basketball great), Tom Brady (No. 12, New England Patriots quarterback great), John Hannah, who was the best Patriots lineman of all times. And Brady has been a superb winner. Q: Now you were big in high school sports: four years on the football team, two years in baseball, senior year in hockey. Can you tell me an interesting story about your early sports days? A: I went down to pick up my father’s car; he was a guard at GE. And the chief said, “Tom, I got to tell you the story … You guys were playing (Lynn) Classical and Harry Agannis at Manning Bowl … and you recovered the ball – a fumble on your two-yard line – and you went 98 yards in a drive, and Tom Luster was announcing the game on radio … and he said, ‘Saugus is going wild and Sheehan is going crazy.’” And the chief said, “I looked up and said, ‘There goes the GE ambulance out onto Western Avenue with the siren going all the way down to Manning Bowl.’” And I remember the ball was then all the way down to the 9-yard line and I saw the ambulance come in and the siren still going at the far end of old Manning Bowl. And somebody said, “Hey, Tom, there’s your dad.” And there he was in his GE guard police uniform. And we scored the winning touchdown. We beat Agannis and Lynn Classical 14-12. And he got back in the ambulance and he drove it back to work. The chief told me that story. We drove 98 yards for the winning score, and we won 14-12. We were good. That was my junior year – ’45.
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