The first title for Bud’s book was Letters to my Grandchildren, which is the main reason he wrote the book – to insure that his grandchildren knew how different life was in the ‘30’s. “Life did a flip-flop after the war,” Bud said. "Life changed! I wanted my grandchildren to know that.” Bud went on to explain that the final title, Boot Tracks, There and Back, “…just fit! There were boots…and the tracks…all along the way. Well, it just fit.”
“It brought back the good memories, but I had to also relive some of the tragedies”, Bud said, as we chatted about his book. He said the hardest part was keeping the chapters “…short, simple and to the point.”
I asked Bud if he had any advice for other, promising authors. He hit the three high points that every writer needs to follow on their road to successful publication;
1. Keep it simple!
2. Write what inspires you, write from your heart.
3. Write the chapters out first, then go back, later, and edit.
Lola Shrimplin quoted Scranton in the Lamar Ledger last week, "This is brand new ground for me. I`ve never sold a book before. I`ve sold a lot of things."
Jan Verhoeff writes on one of her websites, http://acewriters.com/ , “Scranton’s dedication to life in southeastern Colorado, his family and neighbors is evident in his book. Weather darkened skin, wrinkled by the sun surrounds clear blue eyes when he speaks to you directly, sharing his memories of life on the prairies of Colorado.” On her Lamar website, http://lamarco.us/blog/?p=853., Verhoeff says, “Scranton, a survivor of the ’30′s dust bowl days, details his efforts to bring sheep to Colorado. Walking a path of determination he wore the soles off many a pair of boots to make it there and back, again and again.”
As I listened to Bud tonight, I heard a Love of life, an energy that evades many people half his age. I heard strength and pride as well as humility and kindness.
This book belongs on our bedside tables, a reminder to all of us that life is precious, short and so very much what we make of it. We get out what we put in; we are remembered for what we leave behind. Bud Scranton’s written act of Love for his grandchildren will endure forever – both in print, and in the hearts of his loved ones.
Boot Tracks, There and Back, is available...tomorrow at the senior center, at the bookstore in Lamar on main street by the train station, as well as at Amazon , and at Barnes and Nobles.
As always, Nature prevails.
What a simple delight, the story of a man who still cares. Often as people come to mind, I remember the eager joy in their faces as they share who they are, that joy appeals to my heart. Bud Scranton is one of those people whose simplicity resides in his deep joy of living. Thanks for sharing this.
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