This book is the collection of wise sayings and advice that our Mama used to raise her children in the fifties and sixties in rural Oklahoma. If you have ever wished you could sit down with your grandmother or great-grandmother and just have a wonderful visit, this book is the next best thing. It is full of Mamas advice on everything from table manners to dating, marriage, and life in general. It presents truths that could change your life. With common sense in short supply and disrespect for authority all too common, books like Mama Used to Always Say are a much-needed resource to replenish our souls. Just like a warm fire and a comfortable chair can make the world outside go away, this book can do the same with its parenting skills and techniques. It will take you to a time where parental authority was respected and people held to values that were as certain to them as true north on the compass.

Joyce Digby Nelson is a licensed registered occupational therapist and educator. She had a desire to be of service to others at a young age and now has more than 25 years of professionally meeting the needs of others via health care services and public education. It wasn’t until Joyce found herself repeating the sayings idioms, axioms, and clichés in this book to her daughter and friends that she decided to start writing them down. Some of the sayings were coined from scripture to prompt critical thinking; others were to motivate and inspire, and a few were not so nice but raised a few eyebrows with a request to repeat.

In Mama Used to Say, Hannibal Johnson flawlessly captures the collective wisdom passed from generation to generation with a beguiling blend of wit, wisdom, and insight. Following each of the heartwarming nostalgic narratives are the most quotable of quotes—the very words that echo through the memories of our childhoods. An imaginative blend of Mama's brand of comforting common sense and her gentle ethical and moral lessons, Mama Used to Say is full of insights as illuminating as they are honest. Both inspirational and touching, the book is much more than just a meditation on the timeless bond between mothers and children—it is a testimony to the instinctive capacity of all mothers to love and to nurture their children not just through deeds, but through the spirited words that touch their souls.

Edward Sakamoto is one of Hawai'i's most popular playwrights. His skillfully constructed depictions of "local life" and command of stylized narrative devices have earned him recognition and acclaim both in the Islands and elsewhere in the U.S. The three plays collected here present an expertly dramatized panorama of life in Hawai'i from 1959 to 1994. A'ala Park explores a working-class milieu with honesty and humor in this gripping study of a young man stunted by a slum environment at the time of statehood. Stew Rice, juxtaposing the hopes of the late 1950s with the realities of the late 1970s, charts the fortunes of three highschool buddies and the consequences of their individual decisions to leave or remain in Hawai'i. Aloha Las Vegas centers on a retired baker, land rich but cash poor, who wrestles with the decision to relocate to Las Vegas in 1994. Sakamoto is quick to challenge easy affirmations and identifications. Beneath their feel-good humor and celebration of local language and culture, the plays have a depth and an unpredictability. As Dennis Carroll observes in his Introduction, all of them center on the theme of "Hawai'i versus the mainland" and the challenges of relocation--the ambiguities of the definition of "home" and whether it can ever be recovered or regained--and the special qualities of local life that can or cannot be transplanted. This theme is relevant to all Americans familiar with the immigrant experience, not only those living in Hawai'i. A glossary of pidgin words and terms is included. Edward Sakamoto's trilogy Hawai'i No Ka Oi is available from Lightning Press. Booksellers: To order, please contact: Ingram Book Co., P.O. Box 3006, La Vergne, TN 37086. Phone: 888-884-6472/Fax: 800-876-0186. Individuals: Please order through your local bookseller.

***Don't worry! You DON'T have to read all the books in 'A Town without Pity' first to enjoy this series! I thought of everything!!*** A lonely CFO dressed as Santa. A single mom and her special son. And a Christmas carol that creates a miracle nobody would ever expect. I’m just minding my own business, grabbing a snack for my son, before I head back to work. Next thing I know I’m staring down Santa Claus in the middle of the mall. Everyone from the Christmas party last night I recognize as they look at me with judgement. But none of them know what that boy has been through. What I’ve been through. And why, God, but why, has the lord sent me a guardian angel dress as Santa Claus, now? *** My sister Hannah chose my name, Christian, because it sounds a lot like Christmas. No accident there. So when she asks me to dress up as Santa Claus for the kids in the mall, I have trouble saying no. Turns out it’s the best job I’ve ever had, and I’m the CFO of my folks’ company, so that’s saying a lot. But when a certain young boy and his mama come into my life, and I learn of his secret, suddenly his mama, Perrie, is no longer the tiger mama she started out as. And I find myself on the business end of an unforgivable situation. Holiday romance Christmas romance Second chance romance Happily ever after romance Steamy romance Slow burn romance Medium heat Mild foul language Cliffhanger ending