I am one of those people who always dreamed about writing a book. In order to do this, we'll start by developing this blog and I am inviting you or anyone you know to be part of it.

My idea is to create a series of books about being nice. The working title of my first book is, “A Nice Little Book”. (My son, Vince, came up with that name.) This first book will be general in nature. Future books will focus separately on children, women, men, parents, grandparents, neighbors, business associates, celebrities, politicians, school chums, teachers, etc. You get the idea.

The premise of these books is that there is power, not weakness, in being nice, thoughtful or chivalrous. I believe that niceness empowers people to raise themselves up whether they know it or not… that it often takes a big person to be ‘nice’ in the face of frustration and other challenges... that making another person feel good makes you both feel better… that it is okay to be nice.

A story may be simply about someone saying ‘thank you’, about someone doing something heroic under difficult conditions, or anything in between. I am looking for true stories where being ‘nice’ was memorable in small or large ways. Perhaps it changed your opinion of someone, enhanced your faith in humanity, or just made you feel good. Perhaps it was a deed, a random act of kindness or a courtesy that turned a bad situation into a good one. Perhaps it was a good word or two that dissipated a tense moment. Perhaps it was words or deeds of a child who made you proud.

Please send your story or stories to me at papatort@gmail.com or post them here. All submissions will be considered for publication. Take time now to recall a ‘nice’ moment in your own experience. Don't worry about perfect writing or about grammar. Just describe the basic story in a brief, accurate way. If selected for publication in the book, the item(s) will be identified as having come from you – first name, last initial, city and state – unless you indicate otherwise.

Feel free to share this posting with anyone whose comments you believe would be worthwhile sharing with me for possible publication in my book(s). Rest assured that I will NOT share ANY contact information with anyone but I will eventually need your contact information (name, address, phone, email) if your posting is selected for the book. If I need to edit any submitted remarks for whatever reason beyond basic grammar or space limitations in the book, I will contact the submitter to obtain his/her permission prior to publication. Anyone whose ‘nice’ story is used will receive a free copy of the book it appears in.