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Showing posts from October, 2011

Book Review: Terror by Night

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Terror by Night by Terry Caffey and James H. Pence What do you do when everything that matters to you is taken away? If you believe in God, is your faith shaken when tragedy strikes? Do you question God? Do you turn your back and run as far from God as you can? Do you question if he even exist? Terror by Night is the true story of Terry Caffey and his journey after his wife and two sons were brutally murdered, his home was burned to the ground, and his daughter was implicated in the crime and imprisoned. Before the brutal attack on his family, Caffey had felt he was called to the ministry. He did not know if he was going to be a preacher or an evangelist, but he was about to be ordained. But then in the middle of the night, someone attacks his family and everything is shattered. It is the story of his struggle to recover from the injuries he sustained in the attack and his mental, emotional, and spiritual struggles to resume his life. Caffey's story reads like a modern day

Peanut Gravel

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It was a beautiful Fall day in rural South Georgia 1975. My brother and I had gotten out of school and were peddling our bicycles home like we did everyday. In 1975, we did not have to wear helmets to ride a bicycle or knee pads or any safety gear. The cool fall weather made the bicycle ride more enjoyable. After crossing the highway that led out of town to Cairo, my brother looked at me and put down the challenge, "Lets race!" That was all I needed to hear. I stood up on the pedals and began pumping my legs as hard as I could. We were side by side as we approached the corner. I shot for the inside of the turn to get the advantage. As we righted the bikes out of the corner, I was flying and had him by just a bit. The local peanut processing plant in town had machinery that separated peanuts from rocks. The plant would pile these small rocks at the edge of their property and offer them to the public for free. Many of our neighbors took advantage of this generous offer and

Book Review: If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska

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If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska by Heather Lende Heather Lende is a wife, mother and obituary writer for the Chilkat Valley News in Haines, Alaska a town of 2,500 situated 90 miles north of Juneau - a town without a stoplight (even a flashing yellow) and practically inaccessible if the ferry is out and the weather too bad for six-seater air service. She tells the story of living in Haines firsthand with vivid descriptions of the town's characters: the tattooed Presbyterian pastor, the ZZ Top bearded sewer plant manager who rides a motorcycle, the one-legged female gold miner, and the Roy Orbison-impersonator school principal. The story varies from the humorous anecdotes of the daily interactions among the town people to the sinking of a family fishing boat and the loss of a young man at sea. Mixed in with all of the stories are her vivid word pictures of the moose, the seals, the bears, the mountain goats, and the mountains and