FORWARD

Names of people, teams, and places have been changed to protect the innocent [Dragnet TV show 1951-1970]. I want to avoid any legal hassles in the litigious society that is all around us and appears to be getting worse each day.

These stories are based on a real person and different experiences of the main character. The fortunate thing is the author is one of the few people who can converse with the person behind the premier character and in his native language. There is not any interest on his part to put his experiences in print, but he is fine with me doing so. There is still his strong belief in old fashioned traditions of passing down stories by oral means alone. Neither one has the desire to present any of his heroes in a negative or embarrassing light while still getting the story across. Meanings and interpretations can be made any way the reader would like, that is up to you.

The original premise of this collection of stories was to be a partial semi-autobiography of the main character. However, while writing it the intent changed to a theme of hope of possibility, adventure, & opportunity. The idea was aimed at anyone, especially young people, who could dream of participating in various and exciting life events. It could be applied to people anywhere whether one is from the Andes, Northwest Territories in Canada, Siberia, the Himalayas, and even to the remotest regions of the earth. Individuals do not have to just accept a routine and ordinary life nor be stuck in a rut no matter where they are located.

Many thanks to Thesaurus.com, OnlineConversion.com, online spell correction, and a few others. This is always a tolerance of a lot of distractions during this whole process. A process that included turning incoherent concepts, scribblings, and notes converted into written form to become accessible to read. Written English is contrary to many other languages in that it is very different from the spoken words used in interpersonal interaction. Also, writing a novel or creative non-fiction is a far cry from composing and constructing a college paper on any subject, which to me is 95% B.S. and 5% filler. Hope you like it because there is more to come as I have many more stories to complete.

Any input and writing helps, suggestions is appreciated, but please be merciful as I am attempting to improve my writing skills in a language that is not native to me. I know that I am not a great writer, but just a beginner. Specifics and examples are most beneficial for me. One that has a hard time grasping the practical aspect of the concept of how to write to show, not just tell a story. It is much easier said than done.

I am in a fight against increasing age, concussion related brain injury, and forgetfulness of some stories that might be lost if no action is taken now. There are even many more past events that have been lost to the sands of time that I will probably never remember again. I have no control of the writing “flow” as I call it, along with what presents itself in my conscious mind to be written down. It can arrive at any time and disappear just as suddenly as it showed up.

I have also had a very difficult time finding a quality, reliable co-author, editor, etc. over a period of years. Plus, I am too broke to have any of my stories published; So, I chose to put them out on the internet.

Thanks for reading,

Saavo