The nighttime glow of the Cameo Theatre illuminates an apparition of the infamous madam Pocahontas Hale, and the ghost of a young Confederate soldier rises from Cedar Hill to gaze mournfully on his lost homesteadthese are the haunts of the Twin Cities. Local author Bud Phillips takes readers on an eerie, and sometimes humorous, journey through the ghostly lore of Bristol, Virginia and Tennessee. From the terrifying specter of a headless hobo and the spirits of a young couple parted through violence and reunited in death to the organist who played the Sunday after her funeral, Phillips's collection of tales raises the otherworldly residents of Bristol from the shadows.

Nathan Thomas Cole, a disillusioned product of the Gen-X tribe, seemingly has it all, but he still lacks true happiness. He doesn't know it yet, but Nathan is about to have his greatest wish finally fulfilled.

Nathan awakens one morning to discover he has become the master of his own universe. He soon realizes he is completely alone on a deserted tropical island, unsure of how he arrived, how long he has been there ... or if he is even really there at all. Quickly, his nightmarish transcendence into mental and physical survival begins, every minute bringing a new and unusual experience. He encounters moments of tranquility and happiness ... as well as moments of uncertainty and terror. Unexplained events and scattered scenes from Nathan's life begin to play out in random sequence, as characters from his past bring him face-to-face with the shocking truth he has been desperately chasing.

As the island begins to come alive, Nathan must decide if his subconscious mind has come out to play, or if the mysterious island is truly providing him with an exclusive key back to his own lost past, unlocking the present, and propelling him perilously forward into a dark and questionable future.

The man on the mic for countless memorable moments from Larry Walker, Todd Helton, Nolan Arenado, and more, Drew Goodman has lived and breathed Rockies baseball as the team's longtime television broadcaster. In If These Walls Could Talk: Colorado Rockies, Goodman provides insight into the Rockies' inner sanctum as only he can. Featuring conversations with players past and present as well as off-the-wall anecdotes, this indispensable volume is your ticket to mile high history.

Bud Davidson recalls his own 25 years of volunteering. Using interviews, the story builds on the experiences of many others that led a small weekend fly-in to become an international multi-million dollar event. Sources include little known debates that are documented in the minutes of Board and Executive Committee meetings. He has compiled a record of the transition from a small membership convention to an internationally recognized exposition some consider the second largest aviation event in the world. The stories related here have been verified by documents and photos portraying the experiences of volunteers who return each year, something many have done for the entire life of this unique event.

"His appointment to defend a man accused of harming a child had changed all that. It had revived everything in his life that was ever painful. It had returned to his mind and soul an emptiness that once had overwhelmed him. It had set him on a course where he must again confront and deal with the same emotions that had almost destroyed him.

As he watched the water move slowly by his deck, he winced at the thought of going to work. He was scheduled to be at the Public Defender's office that morning to view the Brewton file. Perhaps that explained why he thought the pull of the river was unusually magnetic. The more his sleepy head cleared, the more he realized he wasn't being attracted by the river. He was being repelled by his intense dislike for a man he'd never met.

Clay had tried to picture him many times, but had failed. He tried venting his anger with imaginary punches, thrown as hard as he could. But, he got no relief hitting a man who had no face. It was time to get on with his dirty chore and learn all the things he didn't want to know about a man called Harco."

Three Wars - but Not a Hero: There must be a lot of us out there.

The dictionary defines ruminate as to meditate or muse and that is just what the author of "Ruminations from Chairman Bud" has found himself doing as his tally of years passed grows. Usually this musing occurs late at night when sleep eludes him and a constant flow of thoughts and connections occupies his mind. That there is no pattern would be immediately obvious to an outside observer who might conclude that the only common denominator is a dream-like tendency to jumble words and thoughts into patterns that may or may not ring true when daylight comes. Despite this chaos the author frequently finds himself arising from the warm bed, donning slippers and robe, and advancing to his computer to capture the essence of a rumination before it is lost or scrambled. Fortunately these captured thoughts occasionally are deemed worth keeping and further editing in the light of day. This book is a collection of these ruminations. Any reader who makes a quick perusal of the book's contents will conclude that the subject matter is highly varied and neither follows a pattern nor reveals pearls of wisdom that may benefit humankind. Rather they are sometimes serious, sometimes humorous, but always relatively disjoint when compared to tomes that have been set down by the masters of philosophy or those who attempt to support a particular political or religious theme. On occasion the author sets down his ponderous thoughts on weighty matters like assisted suicide and the question of is there a god. And occasionally the subject turns to more light-hearted subjects such as the life and motivations of a tiny bug scurrying back and forth across a cast-iron tabletop. And there are a few essays of a tutorial nature such as the necessary phases in starting a company based on a whiz-bang invention and on the subjects of types of photography and how they differ. So the potential reader should be forewarned that it is highly unlikely that this jumbled collection will ever appear on the New York Times Best Sellers List and there will be no boisterous book signing sessions at Barnes and Noble. Rather it is the hope that a gentle reading will evoke in the reader a propensity to also occupy a portion of his or her time on earth simply contemplating the world about us and its many strange and interesting facets. Call it musing, mediating, ruminating or whatever, it can take the individual far afield and still return safely back to the reality of life as it unfolds about him or her. Enjoy.