The Whack Of The Closing Stanchions
Far From Papa's Hill In Vietnam 1967
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About the Book
Jed’s story begins the Summer of 1967, when he lives at his Grandparents’ Dairy Farm during the confusion of War in Vietnam. Through darkness, there emerged a vision of hope for non-violence and equality. Impressed by Dr. King’s message, Jed takes giant strides, protecting vulnerable wildlife and neighbors. Coco, his Chocolate Lab is by his side, and Jed’s twin friends, Nate and Effie help train Red Pony, Meggie Goat, and Hideaway Kate, born in a thicket.
“Jed remembers the day he searched for the calf. Soon Jed set off for the marshy area where he was not allowed to go. Summer sun beat down, but still he sank up to his knees in tangled weeds. The boy stood dwarfed beside massive, thorn bushes towering in his path; he took a deep breath and covered his eyes with his arms. Bleeding, Jed plunged onto a patch of raised swamp grass. His heart raced in the darkened cave; it felt moist and soft through canvas sneakers. He spied a tiny calf still wet from her cow’s licking. Jed froze; the cow looked up startled. Seeing the boy, the calf wobbled toward him, shivered and toppled over. Jed wasted no time lifting her. He hoped his arms would not give out, and the cow would not gore his back. Frantic bellowing brought the neighbor’s plow horses racing to the fence to watch the barnyard commotion.”
Missing his parents, Jed finds humorous ritual in Nature‘s surprises. Wise and witty Grandad reinforces the boy’s sense of belonging. Jed’s view from jagged Granite Ledge, high above the farm, brings the wounded boy calm confidence through Summer of 1968.
About the Author
Carol writes before sunrise at her Grandmother's desk. A tiny black poodle curls on her slippers. Slowly dawn emerges through frosted windows of her Cape, set back on a small farm in Southern Maine. Surrounding meadow grass is submerged in snowdrifts until Spring. Soon wildlife will feed beside the old wooden fence where little horses graze. Her thoughts wander to another time and place, when she and her friend Phil tried to make a difference.
After leaving the suburbs of New York City in 1948, Carol's young teen memories of a rural New England hill town are expressed in Jed's story. The Whack Of The Closing Stanchions Far From Papa's Hill In Vietnam 1967 alerts us to an insightful boy coping with loss and change on his Grandad's dairy farm. During ravages of war and segregation in our nation, each encounter, real or imagined becomes Jed's surge for courage, compassion and humor. Iver Crossing comes alive with Jed, and his twin friends, Nate and Effie.
Over twenty years Carol offers love and commitment to raising miniature horses with her husband Dick and son Stephen. Asked about her current choices, Carol's reply is, "When I am in the barn with our little aged horses, I am at peace. Then in the quiet of the night while I write, I am in touch with my truest sense of protecting our world's most vulnerable, gallant creatures, and preserving our earth's dwindling natural resources."
Free Preview: Chapter 4 Pg 9/10 Bull Pen Storm