Moon Toast (Paperback)

Construction of the Trans-Alaskan Oil Pipeline began in 1975, and it marked the beginning of the greatest world-wide migration of workers seen since the Alaskan Gold Rush. Fiercely independent, single-mindedly determined men and women, young and old, from all over the world, traveled to the harsh conditions of Interior Alaska to find fame, fortune, and their personal identities. The wealth of the Pipeline also attracted the criminal element, looking to take advantage of the lawlessness and greed that the multi-billion-dollar project generated. This is the story of Stuart LeClercq, 17, who, tragically losing a college scholarship to Stanford in gymnastics, quits his job at McDonalds, and leaves his abusive and violent middle-class existence in Seattle, Washington. He takes his passion for cooking and his hard-work ethic, hitchhiking 2000 miles to seek his fortunes in the wilds of Alaska. He is driven by his innermost demons of trying to prove to his hated and abusive ex-Drill Instructor father that he is not the “Pathetic Coward” his father thinks he is for not enlisting in the Army and going to Vietnam. Immediately his plans are thwarted by his lack of experience and money. He finds himself stranded in Juneau, still over one-thousand miles from his destination, where he picks up menial jobs flipping burgers and selling shoes, losing his hopes for becoming rich on the Pipeline. He is robbed and betrayed by the mercenaries and criminals attracted to the money and drugs the Pipeline attracts. His inexperience with women causes him heartbreak, loneliness, and depression. Finally, he lucks into an extremely high-paying, but brutal job in the local cold storage, where he meets an Alaskan Native, Frank Whitebear, 52, who teaches him the spiritual ideals of his people, and Stuart begins to leave his old life behind, changing his values and view of himself. He next meets a Vietnam Veteran, Phil Tollefsen, 34, the seasoned Captain of a halibut fishing boat, and a fearless, reclusive legend in SE Alaska. For reasons Stuart cannot fathom, the two form an unlikely bond, and Stuart becomes the First Mate on the fishing boat ‘DEVIL’S ADVOCATE’. Within three years Stuart becomes the top ‘First’ in the entire fleet, and is known from Anchorage to San Francisco as “Little Diesel”, the smallest, but hardest working deck hand on the West Coast, all completely unbeknownst to the humble and self-effacing boy. While risking their very lives fishing over one-hundred miles offshore in their sturdy little boat, the savage Alaskan weather finally shows its power. Stu, Phil, and a deckhand from another boat, Katerina Birkeland, 28, narrowly escape death from the killer storm, then heroically go back out into the hurricane to rescue their most hated enemy, a Japanese trawler caught fishing illegally in Alaskan waters. Stuart begins to learn who and what he really is, as the storm tears away all of his previous beliefs about himself. This story is based upon true occurrences, and is dedicated to the brave men and women of the United States and Canadian Pacific Fishing Fleets.