The Christ, Born in the U.S.Today

Same with my location. No longer than it takes to I get settled in somewhere, I begin to feel the need to see some place else. I posses Itchy feet and a wandering soul which I will not deny. I’ve never quite felt at home anywhere I’ve lived. Even as a child, I felt out of place with my family and the house I spent time in. It was as if I were an uninvited and unwelcome guest. I was so different from the rest of my family. I’d often insist they adopted me. It became a joke. My siblings would tease me with the hope I was indeed of a different bloodline. While I knew no better, never knowing how others lived, I sensed there was something very wrong. Beside the severe beatings and emotional torture, there were never any hugs between any of us. I remember when I was 9 or 10, my mother complained about my brothers walking to school on opposite sides of the street. She said something about them treating strangers better than family. She was correct. However, they did not invent this. Where did she think they learned this? There was a cold impersonal attitude between the seven of us. Animosity showed in their display with no life in their expression. I certainly sensed resentment for my existence.

My brothers and sister seemed to like it that way. They never showed love in their words or actions either. Almost robotic. Perhaps this was the result of the abuse they endured. Stuff goes downhill and I was the leach field, being the youngest. At fifteen I left that abusive situation and started living in a patch of woods. I tried for a while, but I never did graduate high-school. I With dirty clothes and no shower, I didn’t last long. It was a bitterly cold winter in New England. I remember being so hungry. At first, I would see my siblings drive past me and I would wave hello. They would look down or to their side as if preoccupied. They never stopped to ask if I needed a blanket or a sandwich, but soon found an alternate way to get out of town. I really didn’t think too much about it then, because that was life for me. I was accustomed to the way their indifference to me. I never thought to ask for help from a guidance counselor or anyone. I didn’t trust adults at all. I never had much of experiences with them to back up that notion. My parents and adult sister’s friends were strange and the ones who were not, disappeared after one visit. I got along with them okay. Especially elderly folks. I just did not trust them.

I learned quick to never speak to anyone about my problems. I think my father felt it was easier to just presume everything was my fault and beat me than to stick up for me. I learned real quick to just keep quiet about my problems with my parents and it carried over to all adults. And I always felt safer out in the world of strangers who care nothing about me than I did at home. To feel this way is not something I’d wish on anyone.

I wished I belonged to the Walton family, depression and all. Seeing driveways packed with cars on Thanksgiving and Christmas as I walked the streets made me imagine what took place inside. The laughter, the hugs, the love caused me to wonder how it felt to have an actual family. I would avoid going home after school and when the street lights went on as long as I could. I did finally get my GED and earn two college degrees years later. I’d been in a motorcycle accident and shredded my knee. I knew my career in construction was over, so I used the small settlement to go to community college. Without S.A.Ts, my one option was to transfer once I had an associate’s degree. Besides being more affordable, I had to work harder there for the same grades than at the four-year college I later attended.

A few years ago, a theme for a story just entered my brain cells for no reason. Laying in bed, saying my prayers, ideas for chapters would suddenly be there. Quickly I'd jump out of bed and fire up the laptop, for fear i would forget them by morning. One night I had the ideas for two chapters at one and they were so clear. Not just the concept, but a script of conversation and events were suddenly in my head and ready to be written. Not fully developed but enough to write down as a draft to expand upon later. Now I have a little voice recorder by my bed for such occasions. I felt very much compelled to write this book. Finally, over three years later, it’s published. It is a very serious, yet entertaining story. Closely based on the greatest story ever told, in today's setting and tomorrow's threats. So, how can ya go wrong there, right?

Now that I have completed it, I am following mom’s advice and writing some children’s books. I have a series of twelve nice books for children. I am keeping the same characters in each of them, so children who like them will become familiar with them. As if these characters are their story book friends, I want kids to look forward to reading their friends next adventure. There is an alphabet book and a set of phonics books. I once taught a six-year-old to read at the third grade level in under four months. I’m using that formula in these books. For the older kids, there are story picture books.

Each story imparts values, such as honesty and teamwork, while introducing math and science skills with fun projects the kids and parents undertake together. I was originally planning to write them similar to the way Schultz did with Peanuts, but then I realized the importance of the opposite. As I wrote, I began to realize the need kids have to read about close relationships between parents and their children. I think the song ‘Cats in the cradle’ teaches a powerful message. I hear about so many parents complaining their kids want little to do with them as teens and even adults. These same parents spent so little time with their kids when they were little.

The projects and adventures my characters experience are things families can easily imitate and the values taught are things parents can sit down with their children and discuss after reading. For example, one book’s title is, ‘Olivia finds a wallet’. She, a five-year-old, is out with her teen-age brother when she finds a wallet in a melting snowbank. She wants badly to keep it and cares nothing about the consequences this might have on the family who lost it. Her brother isn’t too impressed with her attitude about this. What happens from there is a fun read.

I thought of a nice angle in which to write all my stories. Kids will quickly grow to love and look forward to Crackers reading them the next story. I’m glad you asked. Crackers is a parrot, and he narrates every story. He flies up above to keep an eye out on the action. Each story will have him hiding in the scenery of one page of the book for added fun and to teach the skill of noticing details. Goober has the series named after him. He is a big Ol friendly St. Bernard with a small keg of hot chocolate around his neck in the winter and lemon aide in the summer. He keeps a sharp eye on the kids and his keen nose comes to the rescue when something gets lost.

I introduce kids to math skills and their symbols, as well as some hand tools through my characters building things with their parents in 2 books. I plan to write many of these books and want to hear from readers about the subject and values they would like to read with their children and teach their kids with the aid of such books. Sometimes it is tough to approach kids about some subjects and I want these books to help. This is what I am about with my beliefs and my writing. This is what I am about with my beliefs and my writing. I care about kids and this is the age to teach them things. Once they are teens, if we lose them, they tend to stay lost. Yes, there are exceptions, but they are far too far between and few. If you agree with me, please help me get these going by purchasing them and telling your contacts. Please spread the word now and get the buzz going. I promise they will not disappoint. They say book writers should build an email following and have news type releases and book giveaways. I intend to do this as soon as I learn the details. help would be greatly appreciated and earn people giveaways. The one reason these books are not already out, is the search for an artist. I look forward to getting that out of the way as well as learning all the marketing strategies, etc. then i can concentrate on writing again. had I known about all this, I'd have learned it as I wrote. Especially the times I was feeling burned out or had writer's block. I have faith I will find an artist and get the marketing details done, and hopefully sooner than later.