Many a famous tale began with Once upon a Time. While yet others led off with It was a dark and dreary night. Each author, using these openings, was attempting to set the tone for his or her story and poem that followed. None of the stories or poetry that follow in this book set their tone with such epic or historic and yes sometimes hackneyed openings. Instead they all begin with what the individual author considered a fresh perspective on a subject of either his or her choosing or one chosen for him/her. In order to better understand this last statement, an explanation of how these authors came together to write such stories is required. In 2005, Milli Thornton, the author of the book Fear of Writing, for writers & closet writers, established a writing group in a back room of Chickis Coffee Shop in the small Texas Hill Country community of Bulverde. Each Tuesday morning this eclectic group of would-be authors gathered, and over coffee and a variety of pastries would write for two hours. The two retired school teachers, a nurse and federal agent along with, an Irish lass, and an interior designer/artist would write their stories and poems from prompts offered by Thornton in her book or from other sources such as Texas Public Radio or WritersDigest.com. Making liberal use of their literary licenses, these writers crafted their pieces from these prompts by either embodying the entire prompt or selecting key words and or phrases from these prompts. On a number of occasions the single word the was chosen from the prompt and woven into a tale. Or the writers would choose a subject that was of importance to them at that moment. A tale from ones past; a rail against some minor injustice or poking fun at one of lifes inane situation became fodder for these authors. Just as important as the prompt or fertile material as Thornton refers to them as, was the understanding that the stories and poems, when read at the conclusion of each weekly meeting, would not be negatively critiqued unless requested by the author. Instead, each participant would receive positive feed-back and encouragement on his or her works in hopes that it would inspire him/her to continue writing. The theory behind this kind of writing support can best be articulated in the words of Thornton when she discussed unleashing your imagination. She advised, The more you flex it the more limber it becomes. Positive reinforcement was intended to aid in the limbering effort, to encouraging them to continue to write and therefore become better writers. That the theory proffered by Thorntons was effective one merely has to look at the limited success of several of the authors who have contributed to this book. Two authors submitted and had their short stories selected to be read on Texas Public Radio. One author received honorable mention in another short story competition. Another of this group of authors finished and published a novel and has completed another book that is being readied for publication. These accomplishments might have not been achieved had it not been for this writing group. Moreover, this book would have not been written had it not been for the desire and dedication of these authors who week in and week out continued to pour out their souls in their short stories. Over the succeeding years, numerous writers passed through this group. Some moved on as their life situations changed; others needed something other than what was offered by the group. And still others, decided for personal reasons that the group did not satisfy their writing needs. What remained, was a constant core of writers who continued to meet and toil each Tuesday or whenever possible. The stories and poems contained in this book are the works of that core of writers. This group of writers hope that you, the reader, get as much joy from reading this collection of short stories as their authors did in creating them. The book has been divided
The premise of this work of fiction is that major Mexican drug traffickers can operate with impunity in Mexico enjoying the protection of the Mexican Government as they flood the United States with heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. The heroes of this work of fiction have likened the Mexican Government protection of drug traffickers to the protection the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong received from the governments of Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnamese War. As veterans of that war my heroes witnessed how these governments provided safe zones for the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong from the American Military and as Veteran DEA Special Agents can see how the same thing is happening in Mexico with major drug traffickers who have the financial means to buy off any government official. Using a Special Operations Team, originally assigned to Bolivia, to sneak into Mexico and do unilateral enforcement operations in Mexico my heroes not only hope to wreck havoc with the major traffickers but also hope to send a signal to those in the Mexican government who choose to protect these traffickers that they can not offer the traffickers a Safe Zone.
The head of a Mexican Drug Cartel kidnaps the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and holds him hostage in a remote area of Northern Mexico. Tom Blaine. Using, a CI, takes a covert team into Mexico to free the administrator and return him to the United States.
No Drug deal is worth dying for, was the first rule of the street that I chose to call a Street Smart rule and was one of ten informal rules which guided me through a career as a Federal Agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In my book Breakfast in Kersey I detail these ten rules, the Street Smarts, that I deduced from actual street experience and incorporated them with anecdotal incidents which traced the highs and lows of my Special Agent career. In tracing my long career, the many facets of drug law enforcement are exposed; from the exciting and dangerous work of undercover to the rather mundane tasks such as long-term surveillance. Additionally, the highs and lows of a federal narcotics career are examined from the thrill of making a big seizure or arrest to the heartbreaking hardships that this job has on a family and personal life. And fi nally, I off er insights at the frustrations of the job such as inane policies and procedures established by a higher headquarters that tended to hinder investigations and, at times, agent safety to the petty bickering that existed between local, state and federal agencies over drug and or money seizures and jurisdiction. Interwoven into these facets are anecdotes, both humorous and sad but every one of them real allowing a keen insight as to what it was really like to toil in the realm of narcotics enforcement.
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