Former Nassau Herald teen writer publishes first novel

Bob Calderon’s journey from a shy, closeted teenager in Woodmere to a published author at age 77 began with a newspaper column and a neighbor who saw potential where he saw uncertainty.

Calderon, a Lawrence High School graduate and former columnist for the Nassau Herald, recently self-published his first book, “What You See in Me”, a semi-autobiographical novella inspired by his experiences growing up in the Five Towns during the 1960s. The book follows Jacob Topol, a closeted boy navigating adolescence while searching for acceptance, purpose and his authentic self.

For Calderon, the story is deeply personal.

“I was closeted back then,” he said. “I was really frozen. People who are treated differently don’t have the coping skills at that age to deal with it. I wanted to be invisible.”

His life changed when Nassau Herald Executive Editor Leatrice Spanierman, then a neighbor living two houses away in Woodmere, invited him to contribute to the newspaper’s teen pages.

What began as helping with the popular “Be Twist & Be Tween” column soon evolved into Calderon writing under his own byline in a column called “Hot From the Cauldron.”

“To first help her write the column, then to give it to me and put it under my own name in my junior and senior years was an extraordinary thing,” Calderon said. “It really saved my life. It taught me things I wasn’t learning in high school — deadlines, responsibility, commitment. It gave me a voice.”

The experience opened doors that few teenagers could imagine.

As a Herald columnist, Calderon attended concerts, book events and celebrity appearances. Among his most memorable assignments was covering a Beatles event, where he found himself asking a question of George Harrison. At another appearance, he interviewed entertainer Sammy Davis Jr.

“I got to do these crazy things,” Calderon recalled. “I learned to express myself.”

Spanierman remembers recognizing his talent immediately.

“He wanted to write, so I said he could do some stuff on the teen page,” she said. “He was good, and we got tremendous response. The teens loved it.”

Many of Calderon’s columns were filled with humor and double meanings that resonated with young readers while subtly reflecting his personal struggles.

“I understood the work,” Spanierman said. “I didn’t understand what was behind it at the time. Looking back, there were all kinds of messages there.”

As his popularity grew, the newspaper gave him his own column and increasingly prominent assignments.

“I was crazy about him,” Spanierman said. “I tried to help him. I saw this young man and I absolutely knew he had so much potential.”

Their friendship has endured for more than six decades. Calderon credits Spanierman with encouraging him to complete the manuscript he had worked on for years.

“She even pushed me the last five years to finish the book,” he said. “We still have this incredible relationship.”

The book traces the period from his bar mitzvah through directing a production of “Bye Bye Birdie” at the former Maimonides Institute in Far Rockaway, a residential program for children with developmental disabilities.

That experience shaped the course of his life. Calderon spent decades using theater and the arts to help children with special needs develop confidence and communication skills.

“I think I was able to identify with them because I knew what it felt like to be different,” he said. “The most important thing was giving them coping skills. That’s what I didn’t have.”

While “What You See in Me” explores themes of identity, it also celebrates the Jewish community and family traditions that shaped Calderon’s upbringing in the Five Towns.

Now, more than 55 years after writing his first newspaper column, Calderon hopes his book delivers a simple but enduring message.

“The understanding of how we deal with children and giving them tools at a younger age,” he said. “If you have a question, no question is stupid. Kids need a place to express themselves and feel important.”

For Calderon, that place was once the pages of the Nassau Herald. Today, it is the pages of his first book.

“What You See in Me” is available for purchase on Amazon. Readers can follow Calderon on Instagram at bobcalderon321 and on Facebook (Bob Calderon) for news, events and updates about the book.