Hello "Friends of the Book"! Sorry but the Overlander updates have not been done as I would have liked and it is largely because life tends to get in the way just a bit sometimes.
I have been living in the Las Vegas area for the past 5 weeks and will be here for at least the next year as I settle into a new life style for a while. Several things happened to precipitate my life changes.
It started on March 17th when I came back to Las Vegas to help out a friend who was going to have a heart procedure on the 18th. Well it was supposed to be a basic process of putting in two stents but instead ended up with him undergoing eight and a half hours of emergency open-heart surgery to basically save his life! He was fortunate to have one of the best heart surgeons in the region available and literally placed his heart into his hands for repair. Anyway, what was supposed to have been a few days here has turned into 5 weeks as my friend Bob is now out of the hospital, rehab center and now living at his home in North Las Vegas until he is strong enough and well enough to take to the open road again with his faithful dog, Princess and resume his life in his travel trailer.
The other wonderful thing that has happened to me is Deborah. She came into my life when I thought I was done with relationships and thinking I would never settle down again with someone. She completes me in some ways that are hard to describe but easy to accept and easy to praise God for. I am now reassessing the priorities in my life and she is definitely at the top of the list.
Never fear friends, the book project has faltered but not failed and as soon as I am able to get comfortable and set up an office space where I can work, I will set my heels and move forward with the story of Chance Hunter, Crystal Parker and her family and the other folks of the Wilson-Lambert wagon train as they make their way to Oregon. It seems God has allowed me to do some first-hand research into human nature and placed characters in my path that will ultimately end up on the pages of the novel. I am so grateful for all of the wonderful friends I have made and the interesting people I have encountered on my brief foray onto the road.
The traveling lifestyle has not ended but has just taken a brief sabbatical. I will be working on the book, a possible Kickstarter project to fund the book and educational projects I have in mind regarding the Oregon Trail and attempting to put together an RV solution to allow Deborah and me to travel "the Trail" and give the project the attention it deserves so we can share the experiences with the people who care about our proud country's history. So we will be hopefully hitting the road next Spring after Deborah retires and we will both be somewhat unfettered to traditional jobs and such.
I'll try to do a better job of keeping you all up-to-date and informed. God bless youand see you on the road again someday.
