Synopsis
"Girl with the Purple Ribbon" is an action/adventure story. But it's a love story, and we can always use another love story. It's a story where three childhood friends find themselves on separate sides of the Vietnam War. Coming of age in 1965, they learn that love, honor, and freedom cost more than they expect.In 1965, America fell from grace and into the labyrinth of the Vietnam War. Its sons came by the thousandths to fulfill President John F. Kennedy's pledge: “...pay any price to assure the survival of liberty." The children of the greatest generation would fulfill their birthright, and many would join him on the slopes of Arlington National Cemetery."Girl with the Purple Ribbon" is the story of Seamus O'Grady and Elijah Bravo, two hay-seed cowboys from the Texas Hill Country who dream of the nobility of battle and anticipate the day when it would be their turn. Seamus is a righteous boy and is driven by sensibilities defined by right and wrong. Elijah Bravo, the wild one, is half Comanche and half Mexican. Schooled in the ways of the tribal shamans his transcendental nature enables him to see a fifth dimension. The boys join the Marine Corps and follow the allusion of "saving countries." Eventually, they would learn, there was no light at the end of the tunnel and America did not bleed to help a friend. Regardless, they would stand up for what they believe, yet would struggle to find a reason to persevere amidst the chaos of the Vietnam War. The path they would follow will paint a colorful canvass that stretches from the rolling countryside of the Texas Hill Country, to the battled scares of Hill-861, Khe Sanh, the DMZ, and Hue City.Ofa Hawkins, known as Pretty Girl, the sexy side-kick of Seamus and Elijah is sassy, stubborn, and opinionated. She’s a preacher’s daughter, a scholar, and driven by Scripture she becomes the iconic symbol of the peace movement and wears a purple ribbon to show solidarity for the Vietnam dead and the futility of the war. The war dissolves their friendship, and with the boys off to war, Ofa attends college and eventually becomes a physician. Seamus had her heart, and she had his, but young love is tenuous. As a celebrated physician and peace activist, Ofa Hawkins gains national and international acclaim, but she falls into an abyss; there's a hole in her heart. Yet, there’s something she must do. A fanatical mission! Ofa Hawkins, girl with the purple ribbon! Of course, she would go to Vietnam, and she'd go for blood. Under the guise of a physician on a medical mission she follows a circuitous path of mystery, intrigue, and playing on the sensibilities of men, she would search for that one reason worthy of death:love. "Girl with the Purple Ribbon" is a testament to Shakespeare's assertion of the nobility of the human condition: "what piece of work is man." Ofa Hawkins, Seamus O'Grady, and Elijah Bravo will answer Shakespeare's quest.Ofa Hawkins, the girl with the purple ribbon, would fight the last battle of the Vietnam War. Would she survive? No warrior, no pacifist, no member of the silent majority walked away from Vietnam unscathed.
About the Author
I've been called, " the mechanic of the soul." As a college professor, I have quelled the waters of troubled souls. Before that, I worked the docks in New York City, boxed in the golden-gloves, counseled street gangs, hustled beer at Yankee Stadium, fought a war, fell in love, been a dad, failed a whole bunch, been a friend and a sinner, hopped an eastbound freight, and raised some holy hell. My boots have crossed this dance floor before, so I just didn't fall off the vegetable truck. As a street gang worker in the East Bronx, I kept rival gangs from killing each other. There, I developed an Outward Bound program taking badass delinquents into the mountains and teaching them how to survive off the land. Henry David Thoreau was right, "Wilderness is the preservation of the world." I still believe that. I have a Bachelor's in the classics and a quixotic heart; subsequently, I have a penchant for a story. For 15 years I've been a columnist for the La Canada Valley Sun and have written more than 800 stories. I also have three books sitting in my computer looking for a believer. I enjoy writing and studying philosophy, history, and biography. I am an adventurer who travels and experiences the country. I'm "on the loose," hoboing along the "blue highways" of America. In Hamlet, Shakespeare asks, "what piece of work is man?" I travel and write my stories to answer this question and to find the marrow of life. That's worth writing about. Although I graduated from umpteen universities and have assorted diplomas lost in drawers, the best education I have received was a Ph.D. from the school of hard-knocks. As a professor at Glendale Community College, I have a Master's in Counseling Psychology and a Doctorate in Education. I've taught English, history, philosophy, psychology, social science, wilderness studies, and have counseled students. Since I liked the smell of gunpowder, I joined the Marines, became an officer, and served in the Vietnam War. I have two beautiful daughters: Sabine, a junior at the University of Illinois and Simone, a sophomore at the University of Texas. I got into this fatherhood business a bit late, but damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead.
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