When a soul arrives into this world to begin its journey through life, it is given one body and one brain. There will be one person for sure, possibly more, but hopefully two to greet them. They will be nurtured, cared for, and instructed in preparation for their life journey. The origin, or starting point, for their journey will be set, and their destination will be the same as every other soul on every other journey through life. Their ability to make decisions, and the choices they make, will determine the route they take. Some journeys will be shorter, and some will take longer. Even the shorter journeys may encompass an entire lifetime of experience while some longer journeys may seem interminable to the point of madness. Some journeys may be smooth sailing right to top of the mountain. Some may be chaos with no clue as to direction, sense of order, logic or reason. Some will lead others and some will feel compelled to follow. One fact for sure is that every journey will be a story. This book is such a story. I was there at the beginning and I was there at the end. This journey is "Marie." For that reason I kept other character's names out of the story and addressed them by nouns, pronouns, or affectionate nicknames, unless they were famous or known celebrities. We should all have someone to tell our story. It would reduce the time we have to spend listening to people telling us their own version all the time. I suspect there are parts of this story we can all relate to. My wish is that if you read "Marie" you will know that you are not traveling alone. Every minute of every mile takes us closer to our final destination, so what's your hurry?
The most common method of describing an author is to talk about who or what the author was and did in life. In this case what Roy was, and what he accomplished that led to the day he wrote "Marie". Roy began his Journey in the Upper Peninsula, Michigan. Roy's family moved from the Great White North, down south to the Frozen Tundra of Green Bay. He grew up in the backwoods of Suamico, Wisconsin. Roy spent a lot of time cutting and splitting wood, deer hunting, logging, farming and driving a tractor. Roy graduated from Bay Port High School. He was a good student, a varsity athlete, an Eagle Scout, and a member of the U.S. Nordic Ski-jumping Team. Roy grew up Catholic, he was an alter boy every Sunday and twice on Holidays until he left for college on a skiing scholarship. Roy attended the University of New Hampshire where he was on the Dean's list and earned a varsity letter for skiing. During the summer, Roy drove a tractor and pea Combine for a canning company. Roy also worked on the Yard Crew at a Charmin paper mill. After leaving college, Roy worked his way up to Assistant store manager in a department store. Roy drove a truck, worked in a shoe and boot heel factory, was on a framing crew, made aluminum windows, was a custodian in his old High School, then joined, and attained the rank of Staff Sergeant, in the United States Air Force. Roy earned a degree in Avionic Technology and taught Avionic Communications in the USAF Tech School. After leaving the Air Force, Roy was a defense contractor for six years, followed by a 26 year career as an Army civil servant. Roy went to Iraq where he drove a South African armored vehicle on patrol in Baghdad. He retired after serving as the Commandant of an Army IT school. Roy was married three times, had one daughter "Marie" who is now raising Hell in Heaven.
