AAHS teacher pens first book during pandemic

Fox provides readers a distraction amid chaos and uncertainty

A lifetime fascination with pennies inspired local social studies teacher Tom Fox to write his first book during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"As silly as this sounds, I've always been intrigued by the fact that people put those pennies next to the cash register in that little tray," he said. "I actually got the idea, 'you know, pennies are just not valued,' about 15 to 20 years ago. I thought it'd be fun to write a book about a penny."

Compelled to see his vision through decades after the idea popped into his head, Fox did just that. He wrote "A Penny's Thoughts" under the pen name of Tommy O'Sionnach.

When the coronavirus struck the country last year, Fox knew the time was right.

"When COVID-19 hit, I certainly had time to do it," he said. "I finally put it all together. Life really did grind to a peaceful halt. As sad as it was, I decided 'OK, now is the time.'"

Fox even incorporated the once-in-a-century pandemic into his work.

"I actually hit on COVID-19 toward the end of the book," he said. "I just thought, 'it's been a crazy year and maybe this will bring some joy to people.'"

The pandemic influenced his writing throughout the entire process, driving Fox to give readers a lighthearted distraction amid the chaos and uncertainty.

"I think we needed an escape," he said. "Sometimes a nice, short read is a great escape. Politically, this country has been torn in two, and the pandemic has been brutal. I just wanted to give a narrative that people could relate to. We all have situations where we can relate to a penny."

Fox has taught for 21 years, spending most of his career as a social studies teacher at Altoona Area High School.

He said he and his seniors talk about "bucket-list items" at the end of each year. For Fox, it was writing a book one day, which he's proud to have "scratched off" of his list.

With a writing background that includes guest columns for the Mirror, Fox said he plans to continue a writing career in tandem with teaching.

"I'm definitely going to continue to pursue it," he said. "I really, really enjoy writing. It's just a great way of expression. It's something I've always done."

The Cleveland native studied secondary education at Saint Francis University, where he also played power forward for the men's basketball team.

His former teammate and current Saint Francis men's basketball coach, Rob Krimmel, said Fox's unparalleled creativity extends to other facet's of the latter's life, including the basketball court when the two played together.

"We had a good chemistry on the court because of his creativity," Krimmel said. "The thing about Tom is he's creative on his feet. That's another level of creativity."

Krimmel believes Fox will have continued success in his writing ventures, and said he thoroughly enjoyed the book.

"I loved it," he said. "I couldn't put it down. I read it from cover to cover on a road trip. I think we've all experienced finding a penny someplace. The way he wrote the book and the genius of the path of a penny kind of got you thinking in a way that you don't think when you pick that penny up off the floor."

Mirror Staff Writer Andrew Mollenauer is at 814-946-7428.