If you're anything resembling a West Virginia University football or men's basketball fan, you know Tony Caridi's voice.
It's the one resonating from your stereo speakers when the Mountaineers sprint onto the football field or the basketball court. Caridi has been WVU's play-by-play voice since 1997.
The written word, however, hasn't been something he's been all that comfortable with in his life.
"When I was in school, I literally would break out in a sweat when it came time to write something," Caridi said. "If I had a class and they said there was a five-page paper, 10-page paper, seriously, I went into a major bum-out."
Yet he always has been captivated by talented writers. And he remembers being enthralled as a child with authors like Dr. Seuss. So he finally decided to take a chance at authoring a children's book.
"Where, Oh Where, Oh Where Could We GO? Traveling West Virginia High and Low" soon will hit bookshelves around the state, and can be pre-ordered on Caridi's website, tonycaridi.com. The book is a trip around the Mountain State, highlighting some of its most historic and beautiful areas.
The seeds for the book were planted back when Caridi's own children were in grade school. He would read to students as part of the Read Aloud West Virginia program, and always would take with him a fast-paced, bouncy book like a Dr. Seuss selection. As he quickened the pace, he'd watch the students giggle and laugh.
A couple years ago, Caridi was talking with children's book authors Chuck Stump and Jim Strawn, who wrote the "Sad Mad Glad" series. They encouraged Caridi to scratch his itch. Caridi came up with some concepts, brought illustrator Emily Huffman and graphic designer Michael Teel on to the project, and the book began to take shape.
Through Caridi's words, young readers are whisked to places like Spruce Knob, the New River Gorge, Oglebay Park and Snowshoe. Finding places to feature was easy, Caridi said. The tough part was deciding which notable sites made the cut.
"We show the kids the state," Caridi said, "make them proud about the state and make them proud about the things that are here, and let them know this is a great place you're living in. And we want to plant a seed into them that reading is fun, reading is cool and they can do whatever they want to do."
With one book down, the floodgates of Caridi's imagination have opened. He wants to see how his first book will do. Then, he'll consider tackling another subject. He'd like to show kids that sports isn't a life-or-death enterprise, that it's OK to just play them and have fun. He'd like to offer an anti-bullying message. He'd also like to show them that hard work and grit can lead to great success.
A portion of the proceeds from Caridi's book will go to WVU Children's Hospital. Soon, the book can be found at Taylor Books in Charleston. Caridi will hold a reading and signing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 7, the day of the WVU's men's basketball game against Western Carolina at the Civic Center.
The book also will be found at Book Exchange in Morgantown, Mountaineer World in Bridgeport and Tamarack in Beckley.
No matter his future as an author, Caridi is happy to have written this first book. It's a showcase of the wonders found, as he says during his broadcasts, "from Weirton to Welch, Martinsburg to Matewan and all points in between." And he has loved the opportunity to tell a younger generation - and maybe some members of the older generation - how special West Virginia is.
"I've been fortunate to literally go all over this state," Caridi said. "But when you start to put them all together, there are some really neat things.
"We need to do a better job of telling people what West Virginia is, because it truly is an extremely special place that a lot of people still really don't know about."
Contact Derek Redd at 304-348-1712 or derek.redd@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @derekredd.