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A Southern Life
America Star Books
Category:
Action/Thriller
Publisher: America Star Books
ISBN-10: 1451276923
Pages: 179
Copyright: 2012
ISBN-13: 9781451276923
Price: $19.99 (eBook)
A hilarious portrait of inspiration and lunacy that in some odd way balances itself out. Truly a healthy smattering of southern fried fun with a side of grit to go around, so look out Grizzard and Stevens, there’s a new kid in the back woods!
Having enjoyed the life of luxury in the Northern parts of Fort Wayne, Indiana as a child, a divorce forces Coldiron to move South with her mother to a life of poverty and laughter. Join Veronica on a wild journey through the culture shocked eyes of a child who grows into a true Southern marvel.
Excerpt
It can be said that people tend to collect things. The variety of collectibles in and of themselves are as varied, (if not even more so), than the myriad cultures of the earth.
To that effect I am often given to wonder why it is that I never picked up a collection of some kind for myself. Standing in front of the bureau the other morning, I toyed with a tiny mesh bag full of seashells that my son gave me one year for Mother’s Day and a funny thought occurred to me.
I have made a collection over the years.
As a child, my typical vacation began with a trip to the beach much like the ones my husband and I used to plan with our own children. From the very moment our bare feet lighted upon the heated sands, my siblings and I fanned out like miniature pirates in search of lost treasure hoards that would shame old Black Beard himself.
Of course we mostly came home with seashells, broken bits of brightly colored glass, some sand dollars and a few pieces of driftwood, but to us, it was treasure nonetheless. Don’t think for a moment we didn’t barter with it later.
Over the years, I have looked back on those times with fondness… especially when I am beholding the adventures of my own children swashbuckling with one another over the bleach white sand.
Then this morning as I walked the beach alone admiring the sunrise over the world far away, its pink breath stirring the roiling waters into neon shades of gold, blue and red, I realized that the treasures brought home from our trips to the seaside were not made from the trinkets that call to life a memory, but from the memories themselves… from the adventures at sea.
Even as a child, I looked forward to the vacation time because it was an escape from the harsh reality of poverty. For a short time, my siblings and I were free men, borne upon the ocean’s tide to plunder the world and seek fortune and glory in our adventures abroad. I cannot recall a single time that I did not marvel at the splendor of the sea and its beauty, its strength.
I may have collected, (and over the years even lost), the trinkets yielded up by the vengeful waters, but the collection I brought home and made a part of me ran deeper than that.
I suppose it can be said that people collect many things but for my part… I have collected adventures.
When most think of adventure, they think of someone quite like a pirate as I thought when digging the beach for treasures, but it comes home to me that adventure is living life’s daily rigors with a hero’s heart and a warrior’s determination.
In all my years I have been told one thing with any repetitiveness… that I spin a good yarn.
For all my spinning though, my words break upon the ears of those listeners with the clear ringing of truth. In my heart I think of storytelling as story sharing… the sharing of life experiences with other people who may gain from it some encouragement in dark times, some stimulating thought when the mind is numbed by purposeless people and amoral realities… some soul fodder to nourish the waning spirit when it has wearied of the tireless apathy and hatred in the world today.
I want you think of this book as a comfortable conversation with a good friend: an unexpected but much welcomed visit from someone you haven’t seen in a while and who you would enjoy talking to. The truth is after all, that this book is one conversation with me that covers many various aspects of my adventures (and misadventures) in life.
I must admit that I am given to offer some direct discussion about God in this book. I tend to reflect upon Him at times as a means of pure survival and at other times, as a friend. The basic premise here however, isn’t to introduce you to my way of living or my beliefs so much, but to share my collection of life adventures through the eyes of a Christian who has lived them.
At that I leave you to partake of my most prized collection with the deepest wish that you will put this book down after every story, with something that blesses your life richly.
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