Maria Fire – författare

What happens when you thrust a sensitive, spectacled boy into the rough-and-tumble 1960s world of public elementary school? A boy who cannot sit still in class, and who develops a crush on a fourth-grade classmate? A boy who fantasizes about catching the world''s largest catfish and riding his bicycle around the world? A boy who imagines he''s Marshal Matt Dillon while on Safety Patrol? Meet Sammy Pearsall, the barefoot, four-eyed hero of Sammy. Cringe as 10-year-old Sammy asks for his first kiss. Worry as the school bully targets Sammy for abuse. Chuckle as Sammy directs traffic in the Wild West. Remember your own past as you experience Sammy''s youthful adventures.

Sammy is the story of a lucky boy, one who grew up in the early 1960s in a safe neighborhood and a well-funded school. Whether he was walking barefoot to the fishing hole or riding his bike to school, Sammy was surrounded by parents, friends, and teachers who loved him.

Growing up on a subsistence farm in North Carolina, Jap Allen married his childhood sweetheart, got his degree in veterinary medicine from Auburn University, served in the army, and established his practice in eastern North Carolina. When Jap started into practice in the 1950s, he worked mostly on farm animals -- on small farms and at the local stockyard. Money was scarce, and he was sometimes paid in produce. Mules were the tractors of the day, and Jap treated many mules for colic and other problems -- even bringing one back from the dead. As his small-animal practice grew, he ministered to a wide range of pets, from boas to Yorkshires. He also inspected animals at stockyards, slaughterhouses, and rodeos. Knocked out by a mule, chased by bulls, and battered by car wrecks, Jap survived his veterinary adventures for 42 years -- until dementia forced him into early retirement.

Zombie Co-Pilot and Other Tales

My first bicycle ride was on a rusty Schwinn single-speed that I found abandoned in a neighbor''s vacant lot. The old bike was lying at the top of a gentle slope that led to the street in front of my childhood home. I was about 12 years old. I straddled the bike and pushed off -- and suddenly, my life changed -- I could fly! From that first adventure to my ride yesterday, nearly 60 years later, I have been seeking adventure on two wheels. The chronicles in this collection are some of my favorites.