Recently I spoke to Friends of the Library at the Jackson-Madison County Library and loved that they enjoyed the tales — and of course, that every seat was full. We all love great audiences.
The Holy Cheat
I shared a story of “The Holy Cheat,” about a handsome British con man named George Frederick Burgoyne Howard who passed himself off as a Baptist preacher in Jackson, Tennessee until he got caught. He loved the women and found himself in trouble on that account as well.
When I found that Roscoe Turner, the famous aviator, was from Corinth, Mississippi, or as we say, “just down the road,” I stretched a bit to include his story. But who wouldn’t want to know about a pilot who flew across America with his pet lion cub Gilmore in the back seat! Outfitted with his own parachute, of course, because the Humane Society demanded that.
When I told the story of the influenza epidemic that ravaged our world in 1918, I added something I had been told only recently. A local acquaintance shared with me that she remembered her mother closing the curtains so her daughter wouldn’t see the many funeral processions on the street. It was a devastating time in America with so many killed in the war and then the flu killing so many more.
But then I was able to tell my favorite story about Christmas 1945 when our soldiers came home, and it was Christmas again.
Soon I’ll begin work on an audiobook that will share some of my favorite tales from all of my previous books, Tales of Madison, Old Tales and Trails of Tennessee, and Autumn Memories, and my new book, “Soldiers, Saints & Sinners: Stories of Long Ago.
I’ll keep you updated on my progress so check back when you can!
harbertalexander.com 