Photo taken by Christy McMakin
Good evening, everyone.
I hope you’re doing well on this Sundown Sensational Saturday!
This evening, we’ve a beautiful poem of honor and remembrance from Leonard Tuchyner.
Be sure to keep reading after this lovely poem to learn how you can meet Leonard live and in person as he launches his latest release.
n
This crusty old Navy Salt,
time-worn rusty battleship,
sailed true through life’s endless wars,
steers towards his final berth.
A year ago, on refurbished knees,
this sailor still slung heavy horseshoes
amongst the best of his buddies,
tramped three blocks to his senior hangout,
avoided its so-slow, old-folks’ hoist,
and hiked up two flights of hard steel stairs
to saunter into our meeting room,
declaring, “Argggh, maties. Time to start,”
at which grizzled men replied in kind,
to the amusement of our ladies.
Wrote yarns about seafaring years,
telling stories of land and sea,
about a poor boy’s times at Harvard,
and his years as a school principle,
of which he spoke so tenderly.
Despite an aged stroked-out brain,
he stayed sharp as razor’s edge,
laughed and loved with an open heart,
and dared at times to cry a bit.
When his beat-up heart needed a pop,
a defibrillator did the job.
No sweat, it barely broke his step,
as he walked his daily duty watch.
Pacemaker kept his motor purring,
a tough mean tug that kept on tugging.
Now that pump is just sixteen percent.
It’s up to its gills in fluid,
and cannot fight the out-running tide.
Soon he’ll sail for Davey Jones’ locker.
I sat with him just today,
he and his wife along with mine.
We talked about his final days,
telling jokes and chewing the fat,
just like there’s nothing wrong with that.
All his papers are in order.
He’s content and ready to go.
Those left behind to stand his watch
will grieve and shed a flask of tears.
For all too soon, his course will run,
when ashes float on ocean waves.
No braver man has passed this way
nor a greater loving heart.
His memory will always be,
and I will miss him terribly.
More on Leonard, his work, and a special announcement…
Book Launch with Leonard Tuchyner
Time: Aug 7, 2024 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Where: Online – Zoom
Author Leonard Tuchyner is coming to readers live and in person to talk about his latest release.
Read on for more.
B. Zeke and the Other World
A science fiction novel by Leonard Tuchyner / C 2024
For sale on Amazon in e-book, paperback, and hardcover formats / 315 pages in print
Full information about this book and the author’s previous books are at:
https://www.dldbooks.com/tuchyner/
Synopsis:
Gazeon. A gaseous planet far from Earth, but whose bubble–like, intelligent inhabitants are working to contact other planets and civilizations. They have no permanent edifices, yet they live and work in ways not unlike our own. There are births, deaths, marriages, divorces, sports, restaurants, and institutions of higher education and research. There are also personalities of every stripe and problems similar to ours here on Earth, including drug addiction and its disastrous effects.
The Gazeon characters have marvelous names that always reflect something of their essence. Strong–Presence, Dr. Mind–Storm, Harmony–Lights, and Dark–Lights are just a few of the most prominent beings involved in the Other Worlds Contact Project.
Earth. Rural Missouri in the 1920s. The boy Ezekiel Isacks, or Zeke, is contacted in a subtle and mysterious way by Strong–Presence, who has been sent to attempt to bond with him. Strong is tenuously anchored to his home world by what they call the silver cord. From that moment on, the formerly ordinary child is overtaken by a desire to “learn everything.” In the military, he becomes a doctor. He marries the beautiful Lila, and they have two daughters.
In the story that follows, the lives of the scientists on Gazeon are roiled by frustration and fear that they can never get Strong–Presence back. Is he in fact hopelessly, permanently tied to Zeke? In addition, serious personal problems beset many of the Gazeons. On Earth, people age much faster than the Gazeons do, and at last Dr. Isacks is an old man with dementia and a wife with her own mental problems.
The most pressing question for the Gazeon scientists is this: What will happen to Strong–Presence if Zeke dies before they can be uncoupled?
We find the answer in an ending of immense beauty, tenderness, and hope.
Description of the cover for blind and visually impaired readers:
The scene is of a young boy standing in a field of short corn stalks. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up, and his hands are in the pockets of his overalls. The sky is cloudy, and we see two farm buildings in the distance. Only the right side of the boy’s face is visible to the viewer, but he is obviously staring at a strange object in the sky: a large blue orb filled with clouds. The main colors of the picture are black, white, gray, and grayish beige. Only the orb and the narrow band at the bottom of the cover are blue. The title is at the top in very dark, reddish-brown letters, and the author’s name is in white letters at the bottom, on the blue band. The picture radiates mystery and fascination. The back cover is the same blue, with the synopsis in black letters inside white, puffy-edged surroundings that resemble clouds. The blue orb is duplicated in the lower left corner.
Behind Our Eyes Writers with Disabilities is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Book Launch with Leonard Tuchyner
Time: Aug 7, 2024 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
To receive call-in information please reach out directly to, Ann Chiappetta anniecms64@gmail.com
Please include your request for the call-in information, your name and the email address you’d like it sent to.
Thanks, and we cannot wait to see you there.
*Sneak peek at Leonard *
To get a sneak peek at Leonard visit him in his debut on Patty’s Worlds.