Dr. Michael J. Maccalupo

Where the Road Begins: the Extraordinary Life & Times of Hap Pozner Dr. Michael J. Maccalupo

For Hap Pozner breaking free from his apparent destiny and finding the promise in life that is just out of his reach is the prize he strives for; but, because of circumstances, he isn?t likely to reach it. His life is seen as one of mediocrity in a world otherwise filled with turmoil. It is only through the people around him who seem least likely to help that he can finally reach his goal. This is a story about friendship and deception, and the joys and pains of childhood; but most of all about Hap?s struggles with the two choices that he must face in order to survive ? ?fight or flight?. Where the Road Begins is a story of a boy named Hap Pozner growing up in the 1950s and 60s living in South Buffalo, NY just a few blocks away from Lake Erie and the plants and factories where all of the fathers, including his own, go to work. Hap believes it is his purpose in life to perfect mediocrity. It is life itself that just won?t let him pursue this end. Through his eyes we see how he grows from a young child to a young man in a world where everything appears happy and peaceful, but is filled with painful secrets that disrupt his world and that of those he cares most about. The tragedies that we see are juxtaposed by the wit and humorous antics of Hap and his friends. We experience the joy and love of life given Hap by his Italian upbringing and that of the people who make up this diverse ethnic neighborhood. As Hap goes on his journey through life it is these people around him who shape him into what he becomes. In this story these fictional characters intersect with historical figures and events to create webs that reach far into the future to touch the life of Hap and others around him. Throughout this journey he experiences friendship, a love for music, broken trust, loss, poetry, being lost, wronged and vindicated, a rite-of-passage, and finally the realization that his life is anything but mediocre.