Tales around the Coal-Burning Stove

Biographie de Michael Jerry Tupa

A native Californian, I've resided in seven different states -- spread out from California to South Carolina -- as well as in Italy and stint in Japan (U. S. Marines). For more than 30 years I've worked as a newspaper journalist -- mostl of that time as a sports writer, although I also garnered significant experience as a police/courts beat reporter. More than three dozen of my poems have appeared in several different literary journals; I've also self-published four volumes of poetry/short stories.
Some of my most cherished honors/accomplishments/opportunities is being the sports editor of a sports section twice named by the Oklahoma Press Association as the sports section of the year in our circulation division, receiving an honorable discharge from the Marines following four years of active duty, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Weber State, living nearly two years in Italy (church service) among the Italians and learning the language, interviewing a Native American U.
S. Olympic champion, receiving the Joseph Orengo Annual Award for sportsmanship and sports contributions in Oroville, Calif. I've also won my age division (25-29) at a 5K run road race in Memphis, Tenn.; shook Ronald Reagan's hand in 1990; interviewed numerous pro and high-level college athletes, including at least two former Heisman Trophy winners (Archie Griffin and Jason White); written a full-length history of American Legion Baseball in Bartlesville, Okla.; and enjoyed numerous other once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to interview some of sports' most significant personalities from the past half-century.