Going Home Pete Hamill,Culture Background about the author Florida, New Jersey, New York, Georgia Howard Johnsons Sing the song Text appreciation structure analysis topic discussion Language understanding sentence paraphrase word study,Going Home about the author,Catholic schools as a child. He left school at 16 to work in the Brooklyn Navy Yard as a worker, and then went on to the United States Navy. While serving in the Navy, he completed his high school education. Then, using the educational benefits of the G.I. Bill of Rights, he attended Mexico City College in 1956-1957, studying painting and writing. Pete Hamill was born in Brooklyn, N. Y. in 1935. He is the oldest of seven children of Irish immigrants from Belfast, Northern Ireland and attended,Going Home about the author,For several years, he worked as a graphic designer, while studying at Pratt Institute. Then in 1960, he went to work as a reporter for the New York Post. A long career in journalism followed. He has been a columnist for the New York Post, the Daily News, and New York Newsday, and has won many journalistic awards. As a journalist, he has covered wars in Vietnam, Nicaragua, Lebanon and Northern Ireland. He has also covered murders, crime, the police, along with the great domestic disturbances of the 1960s. His work has also been published in all the major magazines, including Esquire, New York, the New York Times Magazine; he is currently on the staff of the New Yorker.,Going Home about the author,Since the 1950s, he has had a continuing interest in Mexico, living there for extended periods, visiting every year. For six months in 1986, he served as editor of the Mexico City News. He has one additional distinction: he has been editor-in-chief of both the New York Post and the New York Daily News.,Going Home about the author,At the same time, Hamill has pursued a career as a fiction writer, producing 8 novels and 2 collections of short stories. His 1997 novel, Snow in August, was on the New York Times bestseller list for four months, and has been published in more than a dozen foreign editions. His memoir, A Drinking Life, was on the same New York Times list for 13 weeks. He has published 2 collections of his journalism, a book about the relationship of tools to art, and a book about New York City, along with Why Sinatra Matters, an extended essay on the music of the late singer and the social forces that made his work possible.,Going Home about the author,Hamill is married to the Japanese journalist, Fukiko Aoki. He has two grown daughters, one a poet, the other a photographer for the Arizona Republic in Phoenix. He and his wife divide their time between New York and Cuernavaca, Mexico.,Going Home Pete Hamill,About Florida,State flag,State seal,Florida (FL) the “Sunshine State“,Florida was named by the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Len in 1513. He called the region “La Florida“, roughly translated as Land of the Flowers. He probably chose this name because he was impressed by the many colorful flowers. Statehood for Florida came in 1845 (27th state). St. Augustine, founded by the Spanish in 1565, is the oldest permanent European settlement in the continental United States. Florida is one of the leading tourist states in the United States. Great stretches of sandy beaches and a warm, sunny climate make Florida a year-round vacationland. People enjoy swimming, fishing and water skiing in the inland and coastal waters. Major attractions include Disney World, Miami Beach, the Everglades National Park and the Florida Keys. Tourists may also visit historic sites that date back to the Spanish explorers.,N.J.,State flag,State seal,New Jersey (NJ) the “Garden State“,One of the original 13 states, New Jersey was named after the island of Jersey in the English Channel. New Jersey is a state of industrial cities and towns, but also of glistening beaches and popular summer resorts. It is one of the great coastal playgrounds of the United States. Atlantic City is one of the most well-known resorts. New Jersey is located between New York City and Philadelphia, making it a convenient location for tourists to the area.,Going Home Pete Hamill,State flag,State seal,New York (NY) the “Empire State“,The Dutch were the first settlers in New York. After the English took over in the 1660s, the colony was renamed New York, after the Duke of York. It is one of the original 13states to join the Union (it entered in 1788). The state includes everything from skyscrapers in Manhattan to rivers, mountains, and lakes in upstate New York. Niagara Falls is one of the chief attractions. New York is the leading center of banking, finance and communication in the United States. Much of the states greatness lies in exciting New York City, the largest city in the United States and the fourth largest city in the world; its many theaters, museums, and musical organizations make it one of