Tom Swift Writer’s Notebook

If Charles Bender was interested in a subject, he learned everything there was to learn about it. He essentially taught himself how to pitch a baseball at a Hall of Fame level. But baseball wasn’t his only passion. He also applied his curious mind to an incredible number of hobbies and sports — often with noteworthy results.

Trapshooting was one example. Bender loved the sport and he practiced until he became a terrific shot. While researching the book I found no small number of articles that referred to him as one the best trapshooters in the country.

It’s strange — to me and to anyone who knows my non-existent experience firing a gun — to see my name in the April issue of Trap & Field magazine. But it’s an entirely fitting place to find Bender’s. I am grateful to the magazine’s assistant editor, Marsha Bradley, for spreading news about this aspect of Bender’s story.

This post was added on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 by Tom Swift at 12:48 and is filed under Albert, Media Alert.