My Brother's Keeper

About the Book

One of those drunken dirty derelicts you saw sleeping under a bridge could have been my brother. Before you turn away and pretend he is invisible take a second if you will to look at him through my eyes. He was a golden child full of energy, hope, enthusiasm for life, filled with sunshine and laughter. My brother was ten years older than I and from the very first he was my champion and hero. I loved him unconditionally. He and his entire generation were called upon to set aside their hopes and dreams to fight a war in far off lands with the express purpose of battling injustice and totalitarianism and to preserve the American Dream. It is because of the sacrifices of those selfless men and women we are still living in democracy with all that entails. When he returned from the war the laughter and the sunshine were gone. Back then they called it Combat Fatigue and today it is referred to as PTSD. It doesn’t matter what you call it the results are the same. This is his story.

About the Author

Growing up in Pennsylvania during the hectic forties and fifties was very different than what the youth of today are experiencing. Life was slower, people were friendlier, more polite, and the world as a whole was a lot more naïve. This is a tale of one family and their adventures and even though Lila is the narrator she figures as only a small part of the whole. After the chaos of raising five children she thought life would be quiet and serene but such has not proven to be the case. Having lived in nine different states she and her husband now operate a business in Garland, Texas, where they reside along with two really big, really dumb Great Danes. (Lila privately suspects they are actually members of the Blue Collar Comedy team dressed in dog suits.) Although she has had several articles published in national magazines and in the Dallas Morning News she had never harbored secret yearnings to write a book. Even now she is amazed to realize she has done just that. Lila has an avid interest in history and is something of a trivia buff so it comes as no surprise to discover this book is packed with historical trivia. Being a real wacko when it comes to Christmas Lila spends a good portion of each year gathering materials and setting up holiday displays. Then she and her long-suffering husband invite the neighbors in to enjoy the festivities. Her pet charity is the Ronald McDonald House in Dallas, where each December she is fortunate enough to be able to help set up the Christmas decorations for the families who stay there.