Books

 

I just had to do it.... Kindle Edition 

by  Captain Tom Pinard  (Author) and Governor of Palm Springs Corvette Club.  Format: Kindle Edition and Paperback

Continuing a life's journey of getting out and driving the world. In more than 80 years of riding, then driving, America and many parts of the world, a friend's adventure doing the "Four Corners" of the USA on his "Harley" always intrigued me. With a loose month this past summer, I made up my mind to do the corners, continuing more than 28 Romps I had put together with a handful to over 36 Corvette friends following me around through the years. But this time I would travel alone, just as I did a year before when I circumnavigated Australia for 28 days by myself. It turned out really well (both recent adventures). As I did in Australia, I planned to meet folks along the way to break up the long days, just a breakfast or lunch, a cup of coffee, a beer, just fellowship. It turned up to be a wonderful 22 day experience (while Australia and USA are about the same distance around, my Corvette USA trip was a few days quicker).

Following are a few words from Tom Pinard our Palm Springs Corvette Club Governor & Regional Executive.


"Well, it has been a grand adventure, not the trips around Australia and the USA…. working thru Amazon/Kindle to get this little book published…. It is out and while it is mostly the reports I made along the way on my recent Iron Butt Four Corners Romp, there are additional items thrown in (does that entice you to spring for a copy of this tome). 


There is a hard copy book available for purchase. One thing this effort has taught me is that I have come to terms with the effort I have been trying to do for more than 10 years, getting a book about my 60 years in Wrightwood and what that was "all about." All those things I was witness to or helped make happen in my small mountain village and the surrounding area that I named the Tri-Community Area some 50 years ago… so many things. But this effort has broken the ice and I think I'll be able to throw something together now, get it down on paper, in print, digitally or in real print, and maybe this time next year will have the thousand or so pages of  my saga.


So, anyway, this effort is done and hopefully it will be a pleasant experience for those who didn't follow me back in July/August, and for those who did, a memory flogger.


Captain Tom






Shaping Kate: Coming of Age in the 1950s - A Semi-Memoir Paperback - December 13, 2016 


Captivated by her heroes, Kate envies Huck Finn's freedom and Amelia Earhart's independence, and weighs all of her forbidden plans against the stinging pain from her mother's red plastic belt filled with small round holes.

Curious, she reads books and body language, questions religion, hypocrisy and authority, learns about murder, incest and decapitation, and pressures her mother to explain shock treatments, vagina and falsies.

When Kate wakes to bloodcurdling screams from the bed next to hers, she discovers family skeleton; when she wakes to her own terrifying nightmares, she breaks a promise and reveals a horrific secret. After listening to years of hell-and- damnation preachers, and puzzling over unfamiliar strings of sexual feeling, Kate reluctantly gives up her tomboy's world of dirt and adventure and enters her teens, uncertain about the church and God, confused about life and love, but eager to discover the mysteries and freedom of the long-awaited adult world.


         . ~ An excerpt from Shaping Kate ~"Suddenly, a trap door in the rock wall flew open. A huge, winged, fire-breathing dragon shot up and hovered over her. His eyes blazed, wild and bloodshot, and a crusty forked tongue darted in and out between shooting flames. Gray smoke rushed from his flaring nostrils, and scabby, dirty paws, tipped with thick, yellowed talons, came straight toward her face. Kate screamed and screamed. 'Wake up! Sit up right now! Wake up!' Her mother's face replaced the dragon's head, and the room's overhead light replaced the fire and smoke. Her chest heaved and her heart pounded. Cautiously, she sat up and looked around. Gone were the scaly reptile, the block wall, her dad, and the sidewalk. She was in her bedroom, in her bed, and she was eleven years old, not seven. 'All right, Kate. You're going to tell me-this minute-what's bothering you. This is the fifth night in a row you've had a nightmare. When you tell me what's wrong, they'll stop.' All week, Kate had held back. She didn't want to break her promise, but she hated the horrible nightmares. Maybe if she told, her mother could fix the problem and help Lucy. 'Talk to me. What is it?' Kate knew her mom was out of patience. 'Well . . .' She started, then stopped. 'You told us we shouldn't break promises, and I promised.' Her mother used her no-nonsense voice. 'Sometimes, we have to break promises. When they cover up secrets that are so bad they cause nightmares night after night, they should be broken. Then the problem can be fixed. Is that the kind of promise you made? One that covers bad secrets?' Kate nodded."