Welcome to the online home of Bill Dolack!

MEET BILL DOLACK

I hope this picture of me doesn't scare you away from reading about who I am. I could have posted a picture of me with my head shaved and no beard (but I couldn't find it) or me with my ponytail or even one of me with a normal haircut and a closely cropped beard, but this picture shows the most character... even if my wife can't stand it. And the picture to the left (that's me on the left in 1972--smoking the cigar--with my lifelong friend George Tobey) probably isn't much better. Yes, I certainly lacked fashion sense in that year before I graduated (and it didn't get any better as I graduated... beneath my gown, I wore pink bell bottoms and red, white, and blue saddle shoes).

Born: I came into the world on January 16, 1956 in Springfield, Mass., child number two (my older sister's name is Maryalice) of Bill and Anne Dolack. I grew up in the Six Corners section of Springfield--living next door to my maternal grandparents--before moving to East Longmeadow.

Education: My K through fifth grade years were spent at Elias Brookings Elementary School on Hancock Street in Springfield. This school was on our block, just around the corner. After moving to the suburbs (East Longmeadow) in the summer of 1966--following a beating by a 19-year-old who later went on to slit an old woman's throat--I spent sixth, seventh and eighth at Birchland Park Junior High (remember, these were the years before they came up with "middle schools"). Then it was back to the city for high school (Cathedral High). I was tired of following in my sister's footsteps, as I almost always got the same teachers she had the previous year and I'd hear, "I hope you're going to be as good a student as your sister." Yeah, right. I was pretty much a C student with a sprinkling of B's (okay, and some D's and one F), so, no, I was not going to be as good a student as Mare.
As my 1973 graduation got closer, I planned on attending Mount Ida Junior College which had just gone co-ed a couple years earlier. With a twenty-to-one ratio of girls to guys, I figured it was the best available school... and they actually accepted me. Problem was, no scholarships and no financial aid.

After school: So it was off to the army instead, joining the Army Security Agency at Fort Devens, Mass. with a top secret clearance. After failing the Morse code class (in part because I got into drinking and drugs), I was transferred to Fort Monmouth, N.J., to study camera repair. There, I not only learned how to take apart cameras (putting them back together was another story), but I also learned the basics of photography. Then it was off to Kaiserslautern, Germany. After being discharged in 1975, I attended Springfield Technical Community College simply to collect my GI money. Along with psychology, sociology, and English Comp I and II, I took such intellectually stimulating courses as Sports Literature and Sports Officiating. After collecting 42 credit hours over what was probably a ten-year-span, I moved on to bigger and better things.

The next seven years were literally a blur as I continued to drink heavily. My activities were certainly nothing to be proud of. During this time I joined the Masons, then the Shriners, and became a Shrine clown. I also got involved with a cult called the Way International. Then on Saturday, July 31, 1982, I went to a "revival tent meeting" on the Commons in Belchertown, just outside the cemetary where my grandfather was buried. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior that night... and my life has never been the same.

Besides being in the Army, I've worked telemarketing tickets to a minor league baseball game, at a gas station, making motorcycle seats, as a tow truck dispatcher, doing school pictures and shooting weddings, as a newspaper reporter (and assistant editor of a weekly in Vermont), in a hobby shop, then owning my own, in the Group Pensions department of Mass. Mutual Life Insurance, as a writer for a missions organization, and as general manager of a Christian library and museum (not counting my present job).

Where I am now: I'm sitting here in front of my computer in Waynesboro, Va., married (to the wonderful Barbara Lewis, the second half of a twin combo), and exulting in the love of my six children: Amanda, 19 (a sophomore at Mary Baldwin College); James, 17 ( a senior at Ridgeview Christian School); Faith, 15 (11th grade); Josh, 13 (8th grade); Kirsten, 11 (7th grade); and Kaitlin, 7 (2nd grade). Oh yeah, there's a dog (Charcoal), two cats (Shadow and Basil), a bird (formerly Johnny--that's a tale for another day--but I have no idea what his name is now), a turtle (Mr. T), and three goldfish.

UPDATE!!! One of the goldfish has been found floating in the aquarium. Foul play is suspected. Also, on Monday, Sept. 22, I brought home a kitten for my daughter Kaitlin. She named it Maxie because he has a clear-as-anything M on his head. So far my allergies have not kicked in.

Job: After just over four years as the Vice President of Operations for the Linked In Christ Foundation (and general manager of the Christian Heritage Center and Library in Staunton), I'm now working as a writer for Response Unlimited, a direct mail company. On the side I write weekly for Hope Builders International, and when needed, write for Epik Missions. I periodically submit news stories to ASSIST News Service.

Memberships: Right now I'm on the board of World Christian Ministries. I served on the board of the Linked In Christ Foundation for four years and was an elder at the Colonial Frontier Church of Augusta County. I've also served on the Haverhill-Bath Covered Bridge Committee (the oldest covered bridge in the country... click here for more info), the Dean Memorial Airport Commission, the Kiwanis, the Masons, the Shrine Clowns (more later), the Professional Photographers of America, and Wedding Photographers International.

Why do I write? I write to share what God has shown me with others. Of course, I like to do that--usually--in a fictional format, although non-fiction pops up every now and then.

What am I reading right now: At the moment... nothing. I just finished First Patient. Before that it was Horror is Not a Four Letter Word by Matthew Warner and Mayday by DeMille and Block.

What books do you recommend?Anything by John Fischer.

What is the oddest thing about me? That would definitely be my problem tying my shoes so they stayed tied. I'm right-handed, and both my parents were left-handed, so I could never figure out how to do it. I make two big loops... Anyhow, at the age of 50, I'm now tying double knots so I can get through the day without breaking a leg.

Do I have any phobias? You'll never find me in an elevator or an airplane. And if I were you, I wouldn't waste my time looking on a bridge or in a tunnel, either.

Who is my favorite singer? Is there anyone else besides Phil Keaggy? Okay, there is Randy Stonehill. Oh yeah, and Greg Long. But Keaggy tops the list.

What is my favorite food? Wow. This has changed numerous times over the years. I guess the answer would be baked chicken with roast potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and onions. And that's actually something I CAN eat. I eat NO wheat and very little of anything with preservatives, articial colors, pesticides, partially hydrogenated fats, or artificial sweeteners. Oh yeah, and no soda. I do eat a bunch of dried apricots and figs for the potassium.

What is my favorite movie? The Fourth Wise Man starring Martin Sheen. A tear jerker deluxe that is an incredible view of Christ's love in action. If anybody ever makes a movie of Destiny, that will become my favorite movie (sorry, Martin).

Who is my favorite actor? David White. It's been neat following him from high school (Second Glance) to college (End of the Harvest) to adulthood (The Moment After, Six, etc.). David is who I pictured when I came up with the "Dave Slater" character in Destiny.

What is my favorite place? Probably Beech Hill Pond in Maine. If you don't know where it is, sorry, but you'll have to search on a map. I think it's the best place I've ever visited.

Do I have any pet peeves? Oh yeah, I sure do. I can not stand it when people say, "Him and his friends..." It's like fingernails on a chalkboard. The other is, "There's hundreds of..." No, no, no! It is, "There are hundreds..." Are, not is. Whew. Can you tell that it's a real pet peeve?

What are my accomplishments? Well, there are the two New Hampshire Press Association awards I got in the '90s, a 2nd place for sports photography (really a good picture, if I do say so myself) and a 2nd for spot news story (an article where a woman shot her husband to death while he was in bed). I've also had my work published in numerous newspapers as well as Guideposts, Christian Mission, R/C Racing News and the Augusta Free Press. I also was an extra in a police film on suicide prevention (I played a construction worker who walks out of a door on top of Baystate West, looks around, then walks back in the door). That said, perhaps my bigegst accomplishment was being shot out of the cannon as a Shriner's Clown back in the 80s. Yes, there was a trick to it... but I'm not telling.

What are my hobbies? Genealogy is hobby number one, although I have little to no time anymore to dig into my dark past. Actually, my highlight came when I discovered that two of my ancestors--Richard Warren and Francis Cooke--were on the Mayflower. Oh yes, also that I'm descended from King Edward I (you, know... Longshanks, the bad guy from Braveheart). I also enjoy reading (of course), writing (of course), following the Boston Red Sox, Celtics, and New England Patriots, and gardening. I really enjoy photography but since my eyesight started going south in 2000, that has become a much smaller part of my life.

Is there anything about the Church that bothers you? It seems that many Christians, immediately upon meeting you, try to piegon-hole you into fitting into their box. Since you're a Christian, they reason, obviously you believe in (take your pick): pre-trib rapture or mid-trib or post-trib or speaking in tongues or not speaking in tongues, and so on. Let me be me. Let me live the life that God has prepared for me, based on what His Holy Spirit has shown me. And I promise that, to the best of my ability, I will give you the same courtesy (yeah, I'm just human so I mess up in this area quite a bit).