Set in Louisiana in the forties and fifties it begins with three men and a boy in a delightful little shack in the marsh on the Intercoastal Canal. The shack is a great private retreat from life, women and the worries of the world; a place to drink beer, play poker and tell lies and fishing stories. They are awaiting the arrival of the fourth regular, a brash character who usually rides down the bank of the canal on a bicycle. He doesn't arrive but a most unusual Cajun trapper appears, barges into their shack, extracts some treasure concealed under a roof beam and departs in his pirogue cutting loose their motorboat, their only means of getting back to civilization. A big storm, writhing snakes, loss of power, and the cabin set afire force them out on the bay at night in a fishing dinghy that was stored under the shack. Among the four: a promising artist on sabbatical from his New York studio, a former lawyer, now a used-car salesman who will become a great 'preacher', a small town newspaper editor who will become governor, the boy of misspent youth, who will mature rapidly and excitedly - plus the character who never got there and the mysterious Cajun and his treasure. Good Cajun food is mentioned along with duck hunts and many beautiful, exciting women of amazing backgrounds As well as 'the Senator' a delightful wealthy old romantic enamored with a beautiful model.

A fictional story of a small grass-roots church and the problems in the world due to different religions

"Testimony of a Dreamer"-Along with a thirst for rhythm and blues music, our young inner-city dreamer, Macmillan Charles McKinney discovers that he also has an unquenchable desire to discover the truth about his culture of people. Yet while on his quest for the truth about African-American history, he also discovers a social injustice that creates in him, an anger of outrageous proportion. Venture down Beale Street in Memphis and experience the blues, find truth through trusting educators, and listen to the elders from the old school as they all offer priceless wisdom. Macmillan's determined to find a way to change the identity of a nation. But for him to receive the promise of a brighter tomorrow, he knew that his outraged anger must be expunged.

Optical methods, stimulated by the advent of inexpensive and reliable lasers, are assuming an increasingly important role in the field of engineering metrology. This book is aimed at industrial development engineers who wish to take advantage of optical methods. Requiring only a basic knowledge of optics, the text provides a compendium of practical information prepared by leaders in the field. All of the contributors have considerable practical experience in the application of optical methods to metrology. The book covers all of the major optical methods in use including traditional optical, laser-based and fibre optics techniques. A wide range of applications, ranging from measurement of distance and displacement in large-scale civil engineering projects to measurements of small manufactured components, are covered.