Overview
In the summer of 1959, I met Dorothea Harfield. Her father and three brothers from the hills of North Carolina were working for a logging company on our property in Massachusetts, harvesting timber.
She was not the prettiest girl, matronly and with a lazy eye was the subject of ridicule and downright prejudice in our small town. What she lacked in outer beauty she more than made up for with her inner qualities.
The Harfield family lived on our property in a company provided trailer while harvesting timber and Dorothea and I had shared our childhood. My mother recently divorced my father who was addicted to alcohol. When she re-married, it was to a fine gentleman who adopted my two sisters and me and we were now living in the "lap of luxury," and I was about to forget my roots forever. I tried to convince her that I too was poor. I was the product of two hard working Italian immigrant grandparents and how I somehow lost my way.
Since my mom's re-marriage I felt I now had reached the pinnacle of success inasmuch as I placed my values in life in material riches and Dorothea rattled my cage telling me that "God don't need your "stuff" cause' He's the richest person ever and Jesus don't care about no new fashions cause' He put you here to glorify Him and to use your "stuff" to help others."
A strong southern Christian, Dorothea was also a self taught musician. She invited me to "supper" at their modest trailer home and when Dorothea her mother, father and three brothers reached for their instruments following dinner, they tuned then broke into one of the finest performances I have ever heard of Earl Scruggs "Foggy Mountain Breakdown".
Dorothea never learned how to read music, but did show me the basics of banjo playing. I don't know where she finally settled - if at all, but from that time on, I have silently thanked Dorothea for her kindness and the new direction I have taken in life.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940011494567 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Robert Chapin |
| Publication date: | 09/01/2011 |
| Sold by: | Smashwords |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 59 KB |
About the Author
No stranger to writing, acting and singing, in 2006, Bob was chosen to play Charles Ryan in the Kent Brown Summer Love series “ARE WE THERE YET?” A summer theatre production by The Falls Run Players of Fredericksburg, Virginia. This was Bob’s first acting role and his performance earned him the best actor’s award for 2006. A hidden talent also become apparent when Bob was selected to sing John Travolta’s Summer Nights from the smash hit “Grease”. He is also a member of The First Baptist Church of Bonita Springs, FL where he has been actively involved in the choir for the past 6 years - and his tenor voice has allowed him to produce over a half dozen Christian songs by Randy Travis Following an impressive career with U.S. Airways, Bob retired in 2000 and has devoted much of his time to producing ORPHANS OF THE MOURNING, his first novel about a soldier in Vietnam who eventually becomes the first Vietnam veteran President of The United States. This book is currently available in the e-book format from Barnes & Noble. Bob was thrust into the nationwide scene in 1983 with his nationally acclaimed Vietnam poster poem The Wall, a statement about the emotional pain and anger of Vietnam - frrlings and sentiments he was not permitted to express while in uniform, but once discharged, a trip to The Wall evoked his deep personal feelings. The Wall was displayed in The White House in 1983 and as a result received instant success when President Ronald Reagan personally honored Bob for his contribution to all Vietnam Veterans. To date, tens of thousands of copies have been sold. Bob has also recently finished his second novel, MURDER IN OGUNQUIT a mystery which takes place in the small New England coastal town of Ogunquit, Maine known as “A Beautiful Place By The Sea”. In addition to his full length novels, Bob is offering a series of his “folksy” down to earth short stories at no charge for your enjoyment here on Smashwords, and it is the author’s desire that you will consider purchasing his novels after a brief sampling. Prior to his assignment in Vietnam in 1967, Bob served 16 months in Frankfurt Germany as a civilian with the U.S. Army’s prestigious unit; The 513th Military Intelligence Group as a Top Secret Cryptographer In Vietnam he was assigned to the First Cavalry Division (Airmobile), 13th Signal Battalion and was awarded The Purple Heart for wounds received in action in addition to The Bronze Star Medal and other awards. Bob and his wife Maureen reside in Fredericksburg, VA in the summer months and winter in Bonita Bay, Bonita Springs, FL.