"The Open Covenant" examines two opposing trends in contemporary American culture: an adherence to traditional, rigid structures, institutions, and lifestyles; and a move toward a more flexible, tolerant society in which individuals and organizations work together on shared needs, interests, and goals. This volume presents a unique discussion of the distinctive new pattern in today's society--the increasing willingness of Americans to extend themselves beyond narrowly defined self-interests into more controversial and universal issues.

The emotional battle is not an easy road. We all face issues everyday. Emotions can get the best of you or you can learn in time to get the best of them. To focus on the bad side and react can cause a lot of harm to yourself or others. Don't do anything that you will regret later. Stop and think about what your feeling. Learn to turn it around and find the best way. God is there to help you with everything that you go through. He was there for me and helped me to deal with each emotion. As you read this I hope that it will help you to find the right way and make the right choices. Never let go of God's hand through each step.

An ex-railwayman's recollections of working the footplate on fast express steam trains in the late 1940s and through the '50s

Fast train fireman Ken Issitt worked on the footplate from the late 1940s to 1960, experiencing firing some of the greatest locomotives from the Flying Scotsman to Coltimore and Blink Bonney. The work was hard and conditions were tough but little did he know at the time that he was experiencing the last years of steam. He would never have imagined the romantic associations the period evokes today. Through a number of short accounts the past comes vividly to life, via stories about train crashes, peasoup fogs, and fires going out. From the beginning of a shift, donning overalls and making up a packing, and from shunting in the marshalling yard to flying along with an express train at 80mph. Ken Issitt describes what life on the footplate was like across the last years of steam, his tales beautifully brought to life by Chris Bates's charming pen and ink drawings as well as photographs.