This book outlines the World War II experiences of Carl E. Meyers, an Ohio man, from registering for the draft in 1940 to fighting in the European Theater of Operations in 1944. A large part of the book is the letters Meyers wrote home from his basic training and from Europe. This volume traces his military experiences from 1940 to 1944, showing how an average American went through registering for the draft, being drafted, basic training, and combat during World War II. The primary theme is an examination of the ordeals of a common, everyday American draftee, Carl E. Meyers, as he experienced World War II. He registered for the draft when the Selective Service Act passed in 1940, and surprisingly enough was drafted in 1944; his being selected was surprising because he was a Pre-Pearl Harbor father and Selective Service tried not to draft those men. He experienced the boredom and monotony of basic training in a state far from home, and after completing his training was shipped to Europe and fought in that theater, in General George S. Patton’s 3rd Army. In Europe he again experienced the mundane of waiting for his unit to be sent into combat, which happened in the November 1944 offensive. He was killed in that campaign, making the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

As Europe enters a new century of unprecedented prosperity, many beliefs compete to shape the coming years. Pacifism, nationalism, socialism, and other ideas offer a vision of new utopias while older institutions and beliefs struggle to maintain order and relevance. Four young Parisians are caught up in the sweep of historic events that affect their actions as they try to influence the world they have inherited. Their ideals soon clash with older notions more persistent and powerful than imagined. As the century progresses the continent faces crises from old tribal tensions, but with each resolution, Europe appears to draw closer to a new golden age. Then, in the summer of 1914, an unexpected event draws the continent’s most fragile nations into conflict and threatens to undo decades of peace and prosperity. The first in a series, Some Damn Fool Thing portrays the years leading up to the Great War and the people most affected.

I was sitting in a small upstairs room attempting to write this narrative of my education in disability awareness. For over 30 years I have been involved in working with individuals with disabilities as a coach and administrator on the intercollegiate, national and international levels. When I started this journey, at a small, Midwestern University, I had no idea of what I was getting myself into. Now that I have traveled this educational path I have come to realize that it may have been one of the most important learning experiences of my life, an experience I feel needs to be shared. In putting this narrative together, one very real issue I struggled with was how to deal with the present climate of political correctness. My decision was to tell the stories as I remember them, in the language as I remember. To do differently would change and compromise the actual experience. Thus, this is a sharing of feelings and experiences that a coach and his athletes spent in timeless hours in a gym practicing and competing, of thousands of miles traveled throughout the United States and beyond, and days and nights spent together in laughter and frustration.

Book 2 of 3. Spirit's Story. Every young lady has a story to tell but this young lady has more than one. Ostrasized by her sister for following her heart, Spirit starts to doubt her own decision making. When loving him meant hurting herself and having to share his secrets become too much for her, she decides to leave. After hiding the hurt and betrayal from her family and friends she returns home with her daughter and a new man ironically at her ex-lover's request. Now she must face past unanswered questions while creating new mistakes.

Cancer has touched everyone's life in one way or another. This story tells how the author survived the first year after her husband's death, as she goes through many of the stages of bereavement; from denial and guilt to acceptance. Honest, day to day, week to week recounting of her personal struggles, reflections on their marriage, her husband's seven month battle with pancreatic cancer and how she was able to care for him during his illness. She tells this story with poignancy, truth and honesty as seen through the eyes of a grieving, new widow. In the end, her message is uplifting: although the grief and sadness is sometimes overwhelming, healing will take place. There is a "New Normal." This story is meant to inspire, teach and bring a sense of hope and realization that life can and will go on.

Nicole Treadwell has a secret. If she reveals it, she will surely die. Of course, she knows it´s true because certain death is what he promised her after the "incident" in the deep woods years ago. Her fate ever in his hands, keeping the secret guts her on the inside as she struggles to make ends meet, serving as a law clerk to a dangerously ambitious judge in the Nation’s Capitol with secrets of her own. Nicole is tired--exhausted--toying with thoughts (she´s afraid to own) of letting life go. Her life is unraveling, her sound mind frayed. At the end of herself, she knows she can’t save herself, but who can? Worse, does she want to be saved? A swift reply to both questions comes in the way of a still, small voice at an unlikely time that ushers her onto a path few dare to tread or openly discuss. In contrast, Nicole´s former law school chumb and classmate, Timothy Grue, is a hotshot, private attorney who blazes notorious trails in and out of the courtroom. Both handsome and brash (owing to his kinship with privilege and social standing of a “fine” Philadelphia family), he seems to have the world on a string, every creature comfort easily within his reach, including an overabundance of company from the “fairer sex.” Despite his privilege and pedigree, Tim later learns that it came at a very high price. By a stroke of legal fortune (or misfortune), their paths collide professionally, as Tim is handpicked to represent an "A-List" Hollywood client in a lawsuit over which Nicole´s boss is the presiding judge. Not so secretly, the judge relishes the prospect of having her “fifteen seconds of fame” before the world press. Her staff knows that the attention from the paparazzi may prove to be her professional undoing--and theirs. Her job potentially on the line, Nicole contacts Tim Grue for a clandestine meeting of the minds, but will Tim take the bait and “sign on” to Nicole’s “harmless” solution? Their former friendship (on course to self-ignite or implode) sets in motion a chain of events that blast open the door to Nicole´s secret past and their bitter-sweet history; and where crises of identity, spirituality, and morality intersect, conflicting issues of race and class deepen already murky waters, as Nicole is black, and Timothy is white. Yet, as between the two, they want to know why race is still an issue at all? On the road from hell to higher ground, both learn that anything worth having is always tried by fires of a faith that asks, simply, what do you really believe? And more, can redemption ever come too late?