John E. Budzinski performs in many roles: big and little brother, son, nephew, cousin, uncle, neighbor, and more. He is also the author of three books, including his latest, Not That It Matters. Most of all, though, he is a storyteller.

Growing up in the Lordship section of Stratford, Connecticut, John always had a penchant for telling tall tales. To John, the world is a weird place, and early on, he began his neurotic quest to understand the weirdness. His stories stem from his journeys through the weirdness and the odd characters he encountered along the way. The stories are simple, uncomplicated yarns about life as John sees and experiences it.
His writing came about from an ill-fainted attempt to impress a college girlfriend’s father, who was the News Editor of a local paper in Virginia. John wrote some op-ed pieces, hoping to elucidate to him that, while he may be a jerk, at least he was an intelligent jerk. John’s well-thought-out ploy didn’t work and said father still thought of John as a 25-watt bulb in a 100-watt world.

John’s misguided attempt to win the favor of his girlfriend’s father didn’t dissuade him. Instead, it spawned a love of words, language, and a special appreciation for stories. Good stories are good stories, especially when they remind others of their stories.

He told those stories in a column he wrote for a New Hampshire weekly. His work has appeared in the Boston Globe, the Quincy, MA Patriot Ledger, the Worcester, MA Telegram & Gazette, The Wyoming Tribune Eagle, The Connecticut Post, and the Waterbury, CT Republican American, among others.

John E. Budzinski is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He has studied at the University of Bridgeport, Fairfield University, and Northeastern University, and pursued Ph.D. work in political science at Temple University. A seasoned traveler and accomplished photographer, he lives near the UNESCO City of Literature, Iowa City, Iowa.