Cornwall life observer/author Tom Cooper releases latest volume

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A prolific Cornish writer who always has time to laugh has just published his fourth book of humorous short stories.

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And Tom Cooper, 74, is still writing about the fictional town of Clarence Mills, which could sound a lot like Vankleek Hill — and maybe a bit like Cornwall.

“There’s a timeless sense of community values ​​in (small Canadian communities),” said Cooper, whose theme was most influenced by the 21 years he spent raising his two sons in Vankleek Hill. “I learned firsthand the core values ​​of the neighbors and the community.”

Cooper has written a fourth volume of short stories entitled A Time to Laugh (Volume 1): The Comic Misadventures of a Seriously Curious Mind which is available – along with the earlier ones – on Amazon.ca and at several locations in Cornwall and England over eastern Ontario.

This is humor writing from a retired senior, but is it for seniors? Sure, but it’s really food for thought for all ages, based largely on Cooper’s curiosity and what he calls his “love of investigating the details of our day-to-day lives.”

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In the introduction to the new book, Cooper writes, “Who would have thought I would have the gall to invade an unsuspecting audience with more of my offbeat misadventures and coming mental aberrations?”

Well, it was a pretty safe bet he would, and Cooper said this week work has begun on a fifth volume, likely to be released in 2024.

Originally from Montreal’s West Island, Cooper spent all of those years in Vankleek Hill before moving west. Since relocating to Ontario with his wife Jane in 2019, he has written and published four volumes.

Not bad for a man who has had a very serious side for decades. He was employed by SPAR Aerospace and was part of the graphic design work for the Canadarm – Canada’s major contribution to the space shuttle program.

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Cooper taught business administration and desktop publishing at Algonquin College and then worked in graphic design for Bombardier in Mirabel, Que.; During the 1970s, Cooper was also a pilot and flight instructor.

Cooper retired in 2004 and moved west. But soon he was teaching photography and digital camera techniques at Okanagan College and (online) Red Deer College in Alberta, trying not to bore the students by saying the same thing over and over again.

This led to Cooper writing blogs, and many, many blogs led to many, many books. The book A Time to Laugh (Volume 1) includes Midnight Mowing Adventures, The Slimming Effects of Personal Grooming, and The Joy of Birthdays and other Stressful Events.

Where does the title come from?

“If the Christian Bible found it worth mentioning that there was ‘a time for laughter,’ then why aren’t people doing more of it?” said Cooper.

Cooper’s books are in Cornwall at Tickle Your Fancy Gift Shop, The Harvest Garden Center and Time Square Pharmacy and AL MacDonald Grocery Store (Williamstown), Crossroads Convenience Store (St Andrews West), R&L’s Book Nook (Alexandria), Brian’s Place ( Vankleek Hill) and The Broken Kettle Bakery (Vankleek Hill).

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