Official Website of
Peter Durantine
Author & News Editor
WRITINGS
“
Fuel Noir
Four automobile tires rolled slowly over the black
rubber hose stretched across the oil-stained white
concrete. Their crushing weight blasted shots of air
down the hollowed tube to ring the little bell on the
wall of our station – Ding! Ding!
A once time-honored signal at gas stations that a
customer arrived to purchase fuel, get a washed
windshield and, if the dipstick demonstrated, lubricate
the pistons with one, perhaps two, quarts of oil; but
only if the dipstick demonstrated.
Shaggy haired Wayne, pimply faced and eager,
approached the driver’s side of the sedan where an
unshaven man in his thirties sat hunched behind the
wheel. The dutiful attendant stood at the rolled down
window and invoked BP’s instructed salutation: “May
I help you, sir?”
“Yeah,” the man said, throwing a glance at him.
“Fill’er up, will ya?”
BIO
Born in Washington, D.C. near the end of Dwight D. Eisenhower's second term as president (December 17, 1958), I was raised in the Maryland suburbs. Decided to become a writer in college. Worked my way through school. Traveled through Europe, found a job in Germany, and lived there for a year. Returned home via Trans-Siberian Express through Russia when it was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
A story about my travels through Russia: When the train reached a station at the outskirts of Vladivostok, Russia's largest Asian port and home to its Pacific Fleet, a friend and I were detained for taking photos of our train. A little harrowing, but then you realize that, like any good police state, they must harass you lest you leave thinking oppression really isn't a bad thing.
When I returned to the states, I set out with minimal journalism experience
(but plenty of ambition) to look for a job in newspapers. I found one and have been working at some form of journalism since.
My first job as a reporter required me to use a pen, paper and manual typewriter. Today, well, I don’t have to tell you how things have changed. However, at least one constant in our ever-changing world is writing.
I love the written word.
I love music—contemporary, classic, jazz. I tickle the ivories, strum the guitar, and want to finish learning the bagpipes.
I love the moving picture. Film offers a visual way to tell compelling stories, but film, like song, will always need good writing to succeed.
CONTACT
For any media inquiries, please contact me:
Tel: 717-602-4300 | PDurantine@verizon.net
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