Retiree authors life's lessons

Can you judge a book by its cover?

George Keck hopes so.

Keck, 81, of Corning, hopes the title of his self-published book, “Smarter than Einstein?” is intriguing enough for people to pick it up and learn just what the title is all about.

A retired journalist and one-time editor of the Orland Press-Register, Keck spent his life working with words and using those words to share his life’s lessons.

“I spent many years writing columns for different papers and magazines.” Keck said. “When I retired I decided to compile some of my favorite life’s lessons editorials and put them in a book, so really this book took me a lifetime to write.”

After a few rejections from publishing houses Keck decided to go the route of self-publishing and found success with a Pleasant Word a division of the WinePress Group.

Keck writes about what he humorously refers to as some of his small and large adventures and misadventures that taught him the lessons God wanted him to learn.

The small easy-to-read paperback is composed of 27 chapters, or learning experiences as Keck calls them, with titles such as “The Case of the Painful Pinky,” “Don’t Camp next to Rattlesnakes,” and “Thoughts Under the Sink.” It can be purchased by calling Keck at 824-1839.

As for the book’s title, that is a chapter-in-itself – Chapter 25 in fact.

Keck believes people are never too old learn, and still enjoys reading about and listening to subjects like quantum physics (which he said he does not understand), and other scientific studies, and some of the great scientists, mathematicians, and other scholars.

While studying the life of Albert Einstein, Keck said he came to belief that through his religious beliefs he is smarter than Einstein.

“Einstein died in frustration because he couldn’t answer all the questions he had. I’ve found what I believe are the answers and I’m a pretty happy guy,” Keck said. “God is always trying to teach us and if we’ll just listen we can learn a lot. That is really what my book is all about.”

He dedicated his book to his wife Betty, who passed away in 2001, and to his six children, four of whom live in the northstate: Dan Keck, Barbara Bostrom, Nancy Molina, and Steve Keck.

Does Keck plan on writing another book?

“I still might have some ideas to share,” he said.

Julie R. Johnson can be reached at 824-5464 or jjohnson@tcnpress.com.