Traveling in Company is the first book of poetry by author Gene G. Bradbury. Visit www.genegbradbury.com.

There was a time when traveling across country one might pull into any small town in America and find a mom and pop cafe. It was a good place to order a fried chicken dinner. Farmers gathered there to compare crop prices and check the weather before working in the field. The local cafe has disappeared. In these stories you're invited to meet the regulars at the Broken Star Cafe. Some of the characters may sound familiar. Others who will make you laugh and cry.

The title "Quiet Places, Morning Walks" indicates my preference for quiet time. These poems, reflections, and Psalm Notes can be used any time during the day. A quiet moment with a cup of coffee and a book is my personal preference for solitude. The subtitle "Notes Between Secular and Sacred" indicates the two worlds in which we walk. While we are all in some sense spiritual people, we live in the physical world. These meditations are an attempt to find the meeting ground between the two worlds in the hope that they might speak to the reality of the one and our need for the other.

This Fergus is named after a great uncle who loved adventure. You may have met him as he rode the first Ferris Wheel and flew with the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. But this Fergus isn't brave at all. He's not looking for adventure. But when a hurricane threatens Lighthouse Island, adventure finds him. What will Fergus decide when a hurricane threatens the Lighthouse and the residents of Mouse Village? It is no place for a mouse who is afraid.

What were his parents thinking, leaving him for three boring weeks at his grandparent's farm? There would be no internet or cable television and what was worse, only Cousin Emily for company. But on a trip to town with his grandfather, Seth learns of Three Friends Hill and the Banshee's Cave. Are these linked to the discovery of a giant kite Seth and Emily find in the old barn? The three weeks literally fly past and the cousins find that Boring Farm is not so boring after all.

Meet Fergus who wants to be the first mouse to reide the new Ferris Wheel. Follow Fergus and his extraordinary dream to see the 1893 Chicago Exhibition from the top of this marveloous new invention.

Adventure is in Fergus's blood. His success in riding the Ferris Wheel is in the past. When Fergus learns that two brothers, Orville and Wilbur, are going to fly the first powered airplane, Fergus is eager for a new adventure. Is it possible that a mouse can be on the first flight at Kitty Hawk?

In Leon's room you will find many teddy bears. Most of them are soft and wonderful to take to bed. But there is one bear who Leon never takes to bed. His name is Max Bear and his fur tickles and his eyes are beastly. Leon knows something else about Max Bear. What if Leon tries sleeping with Max Bear for just one night? Would that be so bad? Leon is about to find out.