mE AND j.d

 

By Paul Ott and WR Benton

 

“Me and J.D.,” a novel of 91,725 words, tells the tale of two young boys enjoying life to its fullest as they grow into men. They go on a snipe hunt, shoot four holes in the bottom of a borrowed rowboat, wreck a hay truck, get injured cutting cord wood, fall from the second story of a house while roofing, and much more. Like most young Southern boys, they spend their free time pulling practical jokes, swimming, hunting and fishing, except the night they go camping and discover a Ku Klux Klan meeting. Seeing a black captive of the group, Paul is able to divert the Klan away from the site long enough for J.D. to release the man.

Then, fearing for their lives, they hop a train with a hobo and make their way to New Orleans . Once in the city they are stopped by train detectives and made to realize the Klan could not have seen them under the cover of darkness. The book continues with J.D. winning the Heisman Trophy in college and then off to the Vietnam war with Paul, because they feel an obligation to their country. It is during the horrors of war the two become men and see things that affect them for the rest of their lives, as well as making their friendship stronger. J.D., calling a napalm drop on his own position, is awarded the Silver Star and Paul is awarded the Bronze Star.

Using the publicity of both, the Heisman and the Silver Star, J.D. enters the civil rights movement and politics. The same day he is elected as a Mississippi senator, his mother and father die in a house fire.

J.D. lives to see his work achieved and dies with Paul by his side. Paul, unable or unwilling to accept the death of his life-long friend, struggles to live on his own. It is only with the help of God he is able to continue a few years.

Strong characters, suspense, accurate dialog, honest Southern humor, religion, and almost non-stop action add strength to this already exciting manuscript