Wow, hope you get back on line soon! I guess you got a big surge!

I have missed him. I was about to send out a posse tocheck on his whereabouts. Thanks for checking in, Herman. I have a very neat little goody into which my computer is plugged. It stores up to one minute of power so you can close out programs and exit your computer saving your work during a power outage. I'm not all that certain how much of a surge it can take but I have heard it whirr when we had nearby lightning. The night we got 30 inches of rain I was most grateful for its abilities. Hugs! I miss you!

Sorry that I have not posted for so long. I now have backup UPS, a new printer and laptop. I continue to be amazed by the reactions to my memoir. One reader said that just when she wants to cry, I lift her with humor. She was disappointed, however, when I didn't actually push Fullos's face into the squirming mass of maggots.

This is what I posted on another message board after a BB&H chat: Even though I did not lose any friends or family members in the WTC disaster, I bawled, while reading about it in the newspaper. To keep my sanity when I was in hell for years, my main diversion was reading. I became addicted to it. I must have read up to 2000 books in my life and many, many more newspapers, etc. What my little pea-brain has learned is that there are many contradictory and changing studies, claims, ideas about many specific subjects. Not to mention propaganda and historical distortions. Therefore I always question what I read, including "expert" opinons, scientific studies, etc. I have traveled the world. I love morally upright people and often feel that strangers are my friends, soul mates, no matter what color they are or what religions they believe in. When I was five years old, a black GI, wearing fatigues and a steel helmet, gave this little white boy an orange. Thereafter years of uniquely rotten diets would follow. An stranger bought me a sandwich on a French train, and I did so for an Italian lady on another train. An Australian storekeeper would not let me pay him for my purchases. At the Chicago airport, I gave an Israeli Jew twenty dollars after he was robbed on the subway. A young Omani bought me a drink at that same airport. I gave a white-haired American Indian a ride for many miles through the mountains of Washington, and he told me that he fought in the invasion of Normandy. For two years, I bumbed many cigarettes fom a Pakistani friend when I couldn't afford any. In college I partied with Americans, Greeks, Pakistinis, Jews, Indians, Egyptians,Germans and others. If WWII scared me almost to death, the possibity of future wars does also: Was it Albert Schweitzer who said that man will destroy himself by destroying the earth? Someone killed the austronauts on the Challenger space shuttle by ordering to blast off, even while knowing that the shuttle's O rings might fail. How stupid! When a poisonous chemical spilled into river, other factories purposely dumped their own waste into this river at that time. How convenient! I still have a copy of the letter that my father wrote to his lawyer threatening to kill my mother, little brother and me. And he would blame the court for this if it ordered him to increase his monthly child support by less than he spend on cigars. Cigars that came in individual gold-anodized aluminum cylinders, to protect them from a mean environment. Until someone convinces me that there will never be another madman who might order the use of biological, chemical or nuclear weapons, I worry. All of us are in this together and the perpetrators of our present terror must be brought to swift justice. If they aren't, such terror will surely continue. Let's pray that our leaders make the right decisions.

After years of research, scientists have finally discovered why my mother whipped me when I was a child: I have ODD. And all this time I thought that it was because I was misbehaving, or that all she needed was a psychcatharsis with my generous help.

ODD???? what sort of deficiency disorder is that, Herman? I do not want to go to the one I have scheduled and will resist the attempt to send me there. I will make do without the medication if necessary. I wish we could get your yahoo discussion tied to this place. I can always copy and paste them when they have read your book. I was stunned that no on had there yet they were all hugging you. They did not deserve hugs...!

My mother shunned me like I was misbegotten for my ADD... I burrowed in books like you did. At least we are well-read thanks to our mothers. My mother managed to make my father beat me. He was so much stronger and much more effective. All 50 pounds of me... against his full grown man size. Fair never came into the discussion. I just figured I somehow deserved it. Funny how that works.

Herman, *BIG HUGS* for placing that post-chat list of comments here. I would refute most of the ones in which you denegrate yourself. You know better than that. If you are a pea-brain then the rest of us have dust-motes for brains. Your sensitivity is remarkable and that you are also all man makes it even rarer. They say we make our own private heavens and hells on earth, but some of us had lots of help making our hells early on. I pray that your heavens are now eternal and your hells are all past you. I wish I could have comforted you this past week. My first words out of my mouth when I could say anything on seeing the disaster was...."Herman!!!" I felt the most unbearable anguish!

*HUGS* Herman!!

ODD is "oppositional defiant disorder," and I don't even know what it is. No, I did not have it. My sarcasm was out of control. I apologize. But it seems to me more and more new diseases, etc. are appearing.

I love your sarcasm. I just did not want to read anything unintended into your comment. In fact, I cannot find anything about your character which I would change. No, that does not describe you unless it also describes me. In that case I deny it categorically. If I continue to add everything I admire I might just sicken a few readers and embarrass the object of my admiration. Perish the thought! Hugs and more Hugs, you incorrigible wonderful man!

Hello, I'm back. I've spent months revising my memoir and published its second edition under the title "Heroes from the Attic: A Gripping True Story of Triumph." I am continuing researching the literary agent and the publishing world. There is soooo much to learn. I hope share here my experiences with visitors at my book events. They tell me some amazing personal stories. Best wishes, Herman

Welcome back Herman. When and where were your book events?

It's my pleasure to be back. I held about two dozen signings in Idaho and Washington and gave one speech at an Idaho Youth Ranch Family Weekend. It was very gratifying to me that I was able to inspire some of those troubled kids. I was in the process of scheduling signings in the Northeastern states but cancelled this trip because of 9-11. I hope that this event will at least make the world wiser and morally stronger. In my book I quoted passages from each verse of Auden's poem "September 1, 1939." One reads: "To the citizen or the police; We must love one another or die."

http://www.herobooks.com/events.html

A student version for school libraries is now available, called HEROES IN THE ATTIC. I can hardly wait for mine to arrive!

OOps, that is Heroes from the Attic http://www.herobooks.com/

Did you get it from Amazon via our link?