Flight of the Kestrel, A brand new novel, waiting to find a publisher

The following is from "Flight of the Kestrel"a novel by Bobby R Towe sr, it is copyrighted material, by permission.

    The Flight of the Kestrel

Forward:

My name is Ed Johnson, at least that’s the name I will use here (I do like to keep as much privacy as I can hold onto).  

    I wasn’t always rich, nor was I a self-made millionaire; the truth is I simply got lucky and won a pile of money playing the lottery, I won’t say how much of course.

I have donated and continue to do so; a huge amount to different charity’s doing a bit to help my fellow man (mainly children and rural families).

But now it’s time to follow a lifelong dream and have not only my own company but to build the boat of countless lifetimes. 

My life now is a far cry from my roots as a child in an area where you could have mistaken it for a third world country.

     I grew up dirt poor in the Appalachian mountains of Kentucky, living in houses that weren’t really fit to live in, made livable only by heavy applications of cardboard tacked up on the interior walls to block the wind and act as insulation in winter. Life then consisted of going to school, carrying water from springs in the earth, or drawing it from a well, if we had one, and the old outhouse for a toilet (dammed miserable in winter too), the kids in my family me included worked like little slaves tending gardens, and cutting fire wood, helping to make quilts for winter, and helping mom can vegetables to help make it through lean times, and there were plenty of those. As an adult I worked like a dog and fought hard to make any sort of honest and decent living, spending a good many days wondering if I was going to eat that night or not, and keep a roof over my head, while at the same time worrying about whether or not the tax man was going to take my home. And then the powers that be sent nearly all the work overseas!

It has been said that our ancestors once plowed rocks for a living.

 Coming from the mountains I can tell you that anyone who can do that is a formidable man indeed, it’s the meanest kind of living there is, and these are formidable people.

   Gone now is the old outhouse for the most part, replaced by modern indoor plumbing, but I fear they may return along with the hardships, as our people struggle to keep a foot hold in the world. 

 We are far from dumb; the truth is many of our people are simply under educated.

 I went back to school myself after having been out of school for more than 35 years (2 years college), and have also served in the military. 

  The following is from my ships’ log, memory, and from the memory of others involved.