A Hurricane Story

I cordially invite you to visit Reflections Magazine and read Frances: A Hurricane Story by Joann Brown. If the story moves you in any way, please leave a comment.

Featured Author: Dave Richardson

I am excited and honored to host Dave Richardson author of Vietnam Air Rescues. His book recounts his experiences as an air force helicopter rescue pilot in Vietnam. In the following guest post he shares a glimpse of his very personal story and how his book evolved. If you are curious about some of the details and want to hear more from the man himself visit Dave Richardson's one hour interview hosted by Nikki Leigh on BlogTalkRadio.

How the Book Came to Be

I am, and always have been, an avid reader. In addition to spending a great amount of my time in reading, I constantly carry an 'emergency book' to fill in spare moments, so it probably was inevitable I should set down my experiences in writing. Reading was certainly a great diversion while I was in Vietnam.

This book has a somewhat convoluted history. I was a ‘Jolly Green’ combat rescue helicopter pilot in Vietnam in 1967-1968. When I finished my tour in Vietnam, I was assigned to Germany as a helicopter pilot flying VIP’s and light cargo.

While in Germany, our family participated in the Volksmarch program, which consisted of walks of varying length through the German countryside. Each participant who finished the route earned a souvenir medal. To pass the time while on these hikes I began relating my Vietnam experiences to my two older sons.

Thirty years after my last rescue, my second son, Craig, who was by then an Army helicopter pilot stationed in Korea, found an internet listing searching for me. With the connivance of my wife, he furnished my contact information to the requestors.

So it was that, on a Sunday afternoon, I received a call inquiring if I was ‘Jolly 09’. I was flabbergasted and asked who wanted to know. Turns out it was one of the ‘Sandy’ pilots (call sign of the fighters who provided armed escort for the helicopters), who said the Air Force had requested that the surviving participants of that rescue travel to Nellis AFB in Nevada to brief them on that mission.

I jumped at the chance and my wife and I traveled to Nellis. It was there that I met (under much more desirable circumstances!) many of the folks who had flown on my final mission. One of them was the survivor I had picked up. We began an on again/off again correspondence via email.

Having gotten the ball rolling, so to speak, Craig began pestering me to write down all those stories he and his brother had heard so many years earlier. I was reluctant to do this, however. It sounded like a lot of work. So, the project just faded away.

Shortly after this, I retired from my teaching job and my wife and I moved to Kansas where Craig and his family (with, at the time, our only grandchildren) resided. Craig began pestering me anew about writing a book, but I wasn’t interested.

Then, I received an email from the survivor of that last rescue. In it he jotted down the essentials of what had occurred; at least from his point of view. Intrigued, I wrote a counterpoint and found the task to be enjoyable.

I decided to attempt a written record of those events from so long ago. A key ingredient was my locating my old flak map and discovering that I had written down the dates and location of each rescue on the back. Then began a lengthy period wherein I would write down the particulars of each rescue, while Craig researched and produced maps from the grid coordinates I supplied. We were also able to scan and use the old pictures I had taken while over there.

We decided to produce our efforts on standard typing paper, bound with a ‘comb’ format. Since this would be a ‘legacy’ of sorts to my children, I was faced with the problem of what sort of format it would take. After much soul-searching, I decided to write my own (very unauthorized) history of the Vietnam War for their benefit.

My final format was as follows:

· An introductory letter to my (now 4) sons

· A Table of Contents

· The Unauthorized History

· A section, titled, ‘In the Beginning’, detailing day to day events in the life of a Jolly Green pilot not related to any specific rescue

· The Rescues, themselves

· A Section, titled, ‘Bits & Pieces’, relating non-rescue experiences I had

· A section, titled, ‘This Way to the Egress’, which closed out the narrative section

· A section, titled, ‘Jargon’, defining the military terms used

In January of 2003, we printed 10 copies under the title, ‘An Old Helicopter Pilot Remembers Vietnam’ on a laser printer and distributed them between the boys and myself. It had been fun, but I was glad it was over. This was the first edition.

Then, friends and other family members found out about this project and began requesting copies for themselves. Initially, I copied everything onto a CD and sent them to those who asked for one. I also added a few anecdotes which I had failed to include in the original version. This became the second edition.

The third edition came about when I discovered a method of producing your own paperback books. Determined to try it, I produced six copies, which included minor typographical changes. My experience was that, although producing your own paperback books is fun, it is also extremely time-consuming, so I once again resigned from the book writing business.

But that was not to be. After awhile, my eldest son, David, suggested that I produce the whole thing as an e-book. At first, I resisted this effort, but finally decided it was the way to get me out of the CD production business.

David insisted I change my ‘stogy’ title, so, after much thought, I renamed the book, ‘Vietnam Air Rescues’.

Producing the material in e-book form was a lot of work, but we finally got it ready. This became the fourth edition.

Once again, I ‘retired’ from the book business. Or, at least I thought I had. It wasn’t long before David came up with the idea of having an actual book printed and began bugging me to do just that.

As always, I was reluctant. I had heard horror stories about rejection notices and the general inability to get a private venture published. David countered these objections by locating several POD (Publish on Demand) companies.

So I embarked on yet another revision (#5) of my book. After looking at several POD publishers, I concluded that Amazon offered the best package through their CreateSpace program.

They offered exactly what I wanted, a no cost upfront, quality product with no minimum number of books required. They also provided a free, sales website.

I already had my own website (www.vietnam-air-rescues.com ) which I had developed after relying heavily on both David and son #4, Mark.

I decided that, if I was going to have a commercially published book, I needed to ‘shape it up’, so to speak. The first thing to change was the cover. I had produced my own cover for the earlier editions. It was OK, but I felt a new, commercially produced cover, was called for.

Therefore, I initiated a search for a cover designer that in the end turned international. Out of 18 submissions, I eventually picked a fellow in England who worked well with me and produced what I consider to be an outstanding cover.

Oddly enough, it was not what I originally envisioned. I had stipulated quite stringent guidelines for what I wanted. He sent me some great renditions following my instructions, but also included some of his own, ‘just for comparisons sake’. I was literally ‘blown away’. His concept was so much better than mine!

While all this was going on, I did some reformatting to fit a 6x9 inch book and added yet a few more anecdotes that I wished I had remembered for the earlier editions. I also decided to hire an editor. It wasn’t that I was unhappy with my writing; I just felt that ‘pride of authorship’ should be set aside and a set of ‘fresh eyes’ turned on it. The woman I eventually hired, through the assistance of my 3^rd son, Eric, was just what I wanted.

She managed to offer several ideas regarding formatting of paragraphs, etc. that have made the book what it is today. Best of all, she was careful to allow me to preserve my own style while making the changes. Perhaps her biggest contribution was to convince me that, if this was now to be a book for the general public, I just had to eliminate the references to ‘Mom’, ‘your brother’, the boy’s personal names, etc.

Since the book has appeared commercially, I have developed a 30-minute, multimedia program, which includes two snips of actual combat film of my rescues I had forgotten I had. I have presented this program to churches, civic groups and historical societies and remain available to do at request.

All in all, I have been the lucky recipient of advice from my wife and all 4 sons as I waded through the murky waters of authorship. People constantly ask me if remembering and committing to writing my combat experiences has been emotionally distasteful.

The answer is, “No”. I was fortunate in that my actions saved the lives of men who otherwise would have died or spent years in a prison camp as a POW. Thus, I feel I was spared the negative experiences of others who have had, perhaps, a much harder time coping with their memories.

In the book, I record an experience that occurred in 2004 when I was a speaker for the Vietnam Moving Wall display in Kansas. This type of emotional healing of others, including some who have told me they now can begin to understand what their husband, father, or brother went though is perhaps the true reason for this book. I don’t know. I didn’t plan it this way. It just happened.

Another plus for me while in Vietnam, and one I candidly feature in the book, is the fact that I am a Christian and I felt that God was assuring me that He would see me through. He certainly did.

Nikki Leigh Talks with Dave Richardson (Listen to the one hour interview on BlogTalkRadio)

Brillante Weblog Premio

Susan at Angels on Your Shoulder has presented me with a Brillante Weblog Premio 2008. I am honored to receive my first crystal award from Dr. Susan Gregg, author of the newly released The Encyclopedia of Angels, Spirit Guides and Ascended Masters. She has also written seven other books including The Toltec Way and Dance of Power. Her photographs are beautiful and her posts very inspiring.

According to the custom the award may be passed on to up to seven blogs. The rules for the Brillante Weblog Award are as follows:

l. The award may be displayed on a winner’s blog.

2. Add a link to the person who you received the award from.

3. Nominate up to seven other blogs.

4. Then add their links to your blog.

5. Add a message to each person that you have passed the award on to in the comments section of their blog.

My 7 Brillante Weblog Premio 2008 recipients

You are all worthy of praise for your inspirational messages, concern for others and descriptive stories that make us pause and reflect. Thank you all for your encouragement and support.

Reach for More- Aspira a Mas most recent post This time is on loan

Proof Positivity most recent post I'm Staying Positive

Real World Connections- Music most recent post Apologize - Timbaland w/ One Republic
Moments in Time most recent post Evaluating Writing Skills
The Village Stream most recent post Loving Your Kids Without Losing Your Mind Part 1
The Esoterical Journal most recent post Search
Enroute 365 most recent post Defining middle-age my way

Lysistrata

A select few pursue without fear of failure or ridicule because they have faith and confidence in their ideas, and most importantly in the value "of" those ideas. These men and women are anything but cookie cutter molds of anyone else. They distinguish themselves not for their ability to blend in and adapt, but for their oddities and discernible traits, habits and ideas. They outshine others, not through pompous or pretentious actions or words, but through their quiet contributions. Can you think of who they might be?

As an English major in college I read many books and wrote many papers, so many that these books and pieces of paper sometimes became my most feared enemies and I often struggled to escape their grasp. They kept me from sleep, enslaved me to my desk and sucked up all my energy and at times swallowed me whole. These overwhelming moments passed and relief soon arrived and with the relief my love for the words on white paper returned.

Of all the papers I wrote in college, there was only one, however, that I categorize as a truly excellent piece of writing, the only one I wrote and submitted in "pure" confidence. As I wrote my essay on Lysistrata, a play written by the Greek playwright Aristophanes, I enveloped myself in the character of Lysistrata in such a way that I became the character. I knew her heart and understood her mind. With such ease my hand moved across the paper, no forcing of ideas, just a smooth flow tying the pieces together like glue. When my professor returned the paper a few weeks later, my delight over the high grade paled in comparison to my satisfaction over what my professor had written in response to my work. I examined his every word and his analysis. I noted every underlined detail and reveled in his praise. Then, I realized I had pleased my reader greatly, but only after I had pleased myself first.


ADDITIONAL LINKS AND INFORMATION

Read Lysistrata, the play at the EServer Drama Collection
or the Ancient Greek Online Library
Download the ebook for free at the Gutenberg Project
Biography of Aristophanes at Theatre History.

Free Online Books

As I prepare for a new semester, I try to incorporate new assignments and fresh activities into my course plan. So, as I searched for online essays and stories to share with my students, I stumbled upon several sites that offer free access to online books. As a bonus, I discovered a few that include access to free audio as well. Below is an outline of the sites I found most useful and a few of my most favorite reads.

• Project Gutenburg offers over 25,000 free books, in a multitude of languages, in the Online Book Catalog. EXAMPLE Download Three Plays: Lawing and Jawing; Forty Yards; Woofing by Zora Neal Hurston
  

• The World eBook Fair from July 4 - August 4 2008 offers over a million free eBooks for download.

• Although PublicLiterature.org offers a limited catalog selection, I like the easy listening option. EXAMPLE I can read or hear portions of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice directly from my computer without downloading.
  

• LibriVox (started by Hugh McGuire in August 2005) offers free audio books from the public domain. EXAMPLE Download in mp3 or zip file all 18 chapters of Henry David Thoreau's Walden or subscribe to iTunes for a chapter a day.

• The National Academies Press offers more than 3700 free books online. EXAMPLE Read or listen to a podcast of Born To Learn: The Importance of Early Childhood Care by Barbara T. Bowman.

• The Online Books Page (prepared by the library at The University of Pennsylvania) offers a "LIST" of over 30,000 free books online. You can search for a particular author or title. EXAMPLE Read Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights located at the Electronic Text Center of the University of Virginia Library.
  

• Bartleby.com offers a limited selection of online books. Use the Index of Primary Authors to search for your favorites. EXAMPLE Read The Oxford Shakespeare, edited by W. J. Craig which includes 37 plays and154 sonnets.