Book excerpt: Michael was born in Larchmont, New York, the 3rd youngest of 11 children. With sports being his first love, he earned 9 letters playing varsity sports in high school and college. In his first book, The Old Oak Table, Michael invites the reader into his boyhood life in a gentler time, through marriage, fathering 6 children, up to his current retirement in Southern California with his wife, Jan.