Böcker av Albert Allen

Traipsing along the river bottoms of the Current River over and around the log drifts to follow the herd (about twelve) Missouri wild horses (especially the Little Shawnee Creek and the Rocky Creek herds) with most of my time about evenly spent in Carter County with the Rocky Creek herd (the most spirited herd of the four herds). After many months, over two years, I was able to become more adept at their movements; but still the herds at times were skittish. Most of my photos of the Rocky Creek herd were taken within Carter County near Stegall Mountain, and its indigenous glades ablaze with many varieties of wild flowers, where the Collard lizards, Black bears, Eagles, Hawks, Bobcats, Deer, Elk, Mountain Lions, Wild Pigs, Snakes, and numerous small animals and birds roam near Shannon County's Klepzig Mill where years ago was powered by Rocky Creek on its way to the Current River where the wild horses occasionally drink.

The brilliance of a lone white horse grazing on a hillside pasture of lush green grass dotted with scarlet sumac. And like the horse; I too would be alone, (without the light of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ), amid the bountiful beauty of the land. With each new twist in the molding of life, lamplighters gently guide others through crossroads and obstacles, while providing hope at every turn. In a six-decade cultural collection of campfire tales and gatherings around winter's wood stoves, and fishing and hunting campfires while working at a farm and in barnyard lots, Albert Allen shares an inspiring and sometimes amusing glimpse into the goodness and kindness that permeates the peacefulness of Southeast Missouri's Carter County. Within short stories presented in alphabetical order, Allen casts a spotlight on the heartbreaks and sorrows that include accidental tragedies and the loss of community family members, and the poignant moments that include the beauty of nature and its creatures, the outpouring of kindheartedness toward the misfortunate, and the passionate prayer requests raised to God, the Heavenly Father. Life's Lamplighters is a volume of short tales that reflect on love, goodness, faith, hope, and all the gifts nature and life provides for the blessed residents of Southeast Missouri.