JOE COLLINA

ABOUT THE AUTHOR JOE COLLINA

Joe Collina’s legal name is Joseph V. Collina. He was born in April 1938, in Chicago Heights, Illinois. His undergraduate BS degree was awarded in 1961 from Purdue University. He served six years in the Army Reserves during which time he worked for the Andrew Corporation in Orland Park, Illinois, a producer of helix cables and parabolic antennas. While employed with Andrew, he was also attending graduate business school at Northwestern University’s evening MBA program. In 1967, the author received an MBA degree in marketing from Northwestern University.

Upon graduation from Northwestern, Collina was one of four technical sales representatives covering three states selling electric motors for OEM and replacement applications. While employed in the marketing of electric motors, the author attended evening classes at John Marshall Law School where he met his wife of forty-seven years. The author, and his wife Mary, graduated with JD degrees and practiced law for the following 32 years.

Now retired, the author writes as a hobby. He has a daughter and four grandchildren. All are dual, Italian – US citizens (as is the author). The oldest granddaughter, who is disabled, lives in a group home near her mother in Athens Tennessee. The author's twin granddaughters, after their graduations from college, moved out of state. One lives and works in Milan, Italy, the other twin lives and works in North Carolina. The youngest of the author's four grandchildren is a recent high school graduate who is currently working on his future career.

While practicing law, the author and his wife Mary tried countless civil and criminal cases. During his legal career, the author, at different times, served a prosecutor in Texas and as a supervisor in the offices of the Lake County, Illinois State’s Attorney. The author eventually retired, but, before doing so, he served as as the chief public defender of Lake County, Illinois for six years.

THE BIG MISTAKE

This story by Joe Collina is science fiction with many cultural messages. A middle-aged man is advised by his doctors that he has prostate cancer. He contemplates suicide – but with online research – he finds a non- conventional cryogenic option which entails being frozen - in order to later return – hoping medical providers would find new and improved treatment options during his time travels. Readers will follow our frozen patient into the future where he finds himself after his having been frozen. He discovers a new world in which human pollution had totally changed the earth’s environment. The patient eventually decides to be thawed, and return to his former life. The readers, and our patient, discover what occurred during the time he had been frozen.

OUT OF CONTROL

A happy, small-town, criminal defense lawyer walks the reader through several of his criminal trials. We also learn that although he loves is wife, he has been having an intimate affair with another woman. On a beautiful morning, our lawyer decides to run along a rural road which surrounds a pristine lake. As he trots along, he notices a car which, even at a distance, resembles the one driven by his mistress. When he reaches the vehicle, he discovers it is her car. Then, when he gets closer, he looks in the vehicle, he finds the body of his murdered mistress. He runs away from the crime scene, but, on the way home a police officer passes him. The police eventually find the car and dead girl. It does not take long for the police to learn of the affair. Our lawyer becomes the prime suspect and is eventually indicted for murder. We vicariously experience what happens next.

THE LAST WAVE

A suburban retiree and his wife are enjoying a peaceful retirement. Then, late one night, noisy young trouble makers enter their neighborhood. Some of them can be seen from the retired couple's home. Our retired couple see young thugs heading their way. The man of the house arms himself with pistol and advises his wife to hide in their bedroom. Then, while he lays in wait within their dark home, their picture window is smashed open and a leg begins to enter. Our home’s owner, not wanting to kill the intruder, shoots at the leg. But, because the bullet severs an artery, the intruder dies. When the police are called, they charge our homeowner with murder. The reader is then vicariously walked through the results of the homeowner's indictment and the final outcome of his nightmare.