R. Leslie and his wife, Cynthia, live not far from the legendary great town of Woodstock in the beautiful, spiritual Catskill Mountains. After college and a stretch in the US Army, R. Leslie experienced a varied career that spanned sixty-five years, finally retiring at 85 years of age. The first forty of those years were in technical and administrative roles in manufacturing. He left manufacturing in 1996, purchasing and operating a Certified Organic farm in Pennsylvania. In 2000, following training and an apprenticeship, R. Leslie became a professional Organic Inspector, a role he enjoyed for the next 20 years until his retirement in December 2019. During this time, they sold the farm and moved to their home in the Catskills.
By spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had preempted any travel plans. The alternative was to take long walks, read and expand on the family tree. TV and surfing a computer got fast old. He began writing. He joined the local library and discovered a wealth of online writing courses offered, enrolling in courses in the genres of interest. By mid-2021 he had several stories drafted. Late that year tragedy struck when Covid took one of their sons. There was little or no writing for close to a year. With no intention to publish, R. Leslie focused on writing quasi-fiction from his early life in the 1930s and 1940s. An endless stream of ideas resulted in several short stories and drafts for full-length novels and novelettes. He attended two of Marta Szabo’s “Authentic Writing” workshops and found that his writing had merit. Deciding to “finish” a work, R. Leslie chose the story depicted in this book. It was a turning point. Marta agreed to edit the rough draft. Encouragement from friends and family led to the decision to publish.