BOOK NOOK REVIEWS: Janie Reinart & Mary Anne Mayer

**This week's BOOK NOOK REVIEWS shines a spotlight on great books provided by some of the authors participating in my annual FREE AUTHOR PROMOTION event held each May in my city. Help support these new and established authors by checking out their books!***

Title: Love You More Than You Know

Author: Janie Reinart & Mary Anne Mayer

Publisher: Gray and Company

Ages Young Adult & Adult

"I had thought about sending my child away to school, away to a new job, away to be married, but never, never, away to war."

Synopsis: Military moms from around the country share their stories of love, laughter, and sometimes heartbreak as they tell about the sons and daughters who potentially sacrifice their own lives to keep the world safer for the rest of us.

Why you should read it: In this fast paced world of ours where many are in a mad dash to cram as much self centered activities into one day as they can, it's nice to find a collections of stories focused on the heroic service of others. Authors Janie Reinart and Mary Anne Mayer manage to give readers a peek into the hearts and minds not only our brave soldiers stationed around the world, but also the courageous family members left behind who pray for their safe return.

Like-O-Meter Rating: 5 out of 5...Grab it!

A Military Man

Today is Veteran's Day in the United States. Other countries observing this day might call it Armistice Day, Poppy Day, or  Remembrance Day. Whatever you call it, it's a time when people all over the globe remember those who have served on the field of battle. I am considered one of the lucky ones to have grown up with a father around. But my own father, Bernis Joseph Lavergne, isn't around today to personally thank him for his past service so I thought you, my lovely readers, would be kind enough to indulge me this little spotlight on a military man of my own.

My father was born in 1928 and by 1950 he was a young man serving in the Air Force as part of the military police division. While he never served his country overseas during the Korean War, he did manage to offer up his two front teeth in a home front battle. He caught a beer bottle with his mouth one night while trying to stop a bar fight. My father adapted to the changes a military life provided but I'm not sure he was prepared for the pretty little thing who crossed his path during those war years.

Ferol Emma Ownby was four years older and came from sturdy Arkansas stock. While my father had only one sister, my mother came from a much larger family of siblings. My father met his match in her and they were together for more than thirty years until her death when I was twenty-one. She embraced the military life until my father left the Air Force. They moved back to his hometown in the swamps of Louisiana where he lived until his death when I turned twenty-four.

My father was a military man even though he was never chosen to pay the ultimate sacrifice for his country. When he died, I was put in charge of his estate and I thought it fitting he receive a 21-gun salute at his funeral. There is nothing so haunting as the echo of a military farewell to a fallen soldier, whether from the ravages of battle or the end of a long life. It will be a memory I will take with me to my own grave. Besides a heartfelt thank you for service to his country, there is only one other thing I can think of to say to my father...

Good bye, Daddy. I hope you are at peace now. 

A Soldier's Salute

In honor of the poetry tournament so many of my fellow 12 X 12ers are participating in, and for all the heros around the world who gave their all to help make a world a better place for everyone, I dedicate the following poem...

THE HOMECOMING

by: Donna Martin

Walk softly through the creeping vines,

And never lead your heart astray;

‘Til the last dancer touches the floor,

And the fiddler has had his pay.

Play softly ‘til the golden sun sets,

And never let the rains come;

‘Til the last tune sings no more,

And at last they bring you home

Lie softly on your bed of green

And never give up the fight;

‘Til the last flower has had it’s bloom,

And the day leaves with fading light.

Sleep quietly in your darkened abode,

And never stop casting a stone;

‘Til all the stars have lost their shine,

And you find yourself all alone.

Dream sweetly in your world of dreams;

And never let them out of your sight;

‘Til the last mourner has shed a tear,

And at last you welcome the night.

Live forever on in the hearts of men,

And never stop ‘til warriors roam.

‘Til the last hope is cast away,

And they finally bring you home.