So, just who is this Mel Calvert, anyway? He who seems to think that anyone would be interested in what he has to say?
Well, a quick Google search shows us that he is an author with several books published and a successful business man, owner and founder of a publishing company designed to help new authors get their books into print with no upfront costs. True!
But there’s not much about the man himself. Take it away, Mel!
“My first wife, Marge, gave me five beautiful children, seventeen grandchildren, and twenty-three great grandchildren, and counting! My current (and final) wife Sunny, gave me a brilliant son, Michael. who is also the light of our lives.
“I am also a veteran of the Korean War plus a licensed pilot with over 3,000 hours as PIC – many in my own plane. How many of you pilots have ever landed an airplane backwards? I did! It was at King’s School of Aviation in Columbus, Georgia, where I learned to fly and where I got my private pilot’s license. I had just graduated from OCS and was continuing through Infantry Officers Communications School at Ft. Benning, GA.
“There was a steady, forty-knot headwind coming straight at me on the grass strip as I was preparing to touch down with the Piper Cub. As I throttled back to forty knots (about 46 mph), I hovered and then, as I slowly pulled back on the throttle, I touched down and rolled about three feet backwards. What a thrill!”
Mel and his wife, Sunny, have entertained in some of the world’s finest showrooms.
How many of you have ever had dinner with a king and queen?
They did when they were entertaining in the Canary Islands in Spain. Here’s Mel again.
“We were invited to do a show (a command performance) for the late King Hussein of Jordan. He and his lovely American wife, Lisa Halaby, were as gracious and down to earth as any couple we have ever known. We thoroughly enjoyed that unforgettable experience at the Tamarindos Hotel on Gran Canaria Island.
“While in Spain, we were invited to London by famed conductor/composer Johnny Douglas, who composed all the music for the movie The Railway Children. Johnny conducted players from the BBC Symphony for our album, Here’s a Little Sunshine with Sunny and Mel. What a great experience that was, actually performing with such a great group of musicians.
“There are many other times I will write about with names like Arnold Palmer, tennis great Yvonne Goolagong, pro-sports players like Les Richter and Gene Brito of the LA Rams, Vic Davalillo All-Star outfielder for the Cleveland Indians, and other celebrities like Sean Connery, Wayne Newton, Redd Foxx, and a lot more, including the original Dirty Old Man himself, Professor Irwin Corey. Be sure not to miss the story of how I became acquainted with a cute young high school song/cheer leader named Franny Reynolds who later changed her name to Debbie!
“So does this make me special just because I know all these people and more? No, but my stories with them and about them are interesting to those who have never been as fortunate as I have been. So, as I have said before (and will again)—Stay tuned. I’m just getting warmed up!”
-Mel Calvert
