JERSEY CITY NJ. As children walked through the halls of School 14 over the past 14 years, few knew the story of Clarence Matthews, the 76-year-old Jersey City Board of Education security guard.
Now that he has published a novel, that might change.
His first book, entitled "Jacob's Rite of Passage, Vol. 1: Young Jacob," focuses on the youngest of four children from a family of sharecroppers in Fayetteville, N.C.
Jacob learns various life lessons, such as "mother-son over-bonding," the observation that a woman can't teach a boy how to be a man.
Matthews intends it to be the first in a trilogy, of which he is currently crafting the second installment, due out by early December.
A Jersey City resident for 52 years, Matthews worked as a real estate sales associate until 1976, then switched to a more "secure" job as a security guard.He is also a trustee at Monumental Baptist Church, where he teaches a black history class to senior citizens and has occasionally written and directed plays.
Sharon Abbruscato, principal at School 14, said she had seen one of his plays at his church and was thoroughly impressed.
The school shares the building with the Board of Education."I know he plans to continue with writing and I'm going to further encourage him to do that," Abbruscato said.Matthews' attendance at the school for over 14 years has been near-perfect, his supervisor Gerri Hendrick said.
To those who work with him, Matthews doesn't talk much. Instead, he saves his words for the page."I learned I could put things together," Matthews said. "I'm more of a writer than a speaker. You can get your point out better.
The book is aimed at the reading level of an 11-year-old.The book, which was released in March, is for sale on Amazon.com and at Word Works Christian Book Store, 130 Monticello Ave.
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