Charles Parker awoke in a cold sweat. He knew it was all a dream, but he swore it was real. He knew the Sergeant in this dream was his father. But Charles felt like it was him, like he was taking his father’s place, in his skin. seeing, touching, feeling everything his dad had experienced, on that fateful day in 1944. It was crazy, his dad had never told him about what happened in the war. Only a vague reference, to how a corporal had, ’saved his butt‘.
The dreams had started when he was in his 50’s, as he grew older they became more and more vivid, more real. This wasn’t the only dream, they all reflected around a host of memories, of regrets, things that had not been done, or that should have been done differently. Charles had made a list of them and vowed he would make them right. Now he was an 86 year-old man, in a retirement home, with a heart condition. How could he possibly make things right?
That’s when he met Evan, a young musician that was performing at the home. Their friendship, set into motion a series of impossible events. Events that would see a dying wish by Charles, fulfilled by the young man, as he set out on ‚A Pilgrimage to Memphis‘.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
PART I – WHEN PATHS CROSS.. 1
Chapter 1 Born to Hate. 1
Chapter 2 Evan Meets Charlie. 7
Chapter 3 A Friendship Grows. 17
Chapter 4 A Roadblock. 21
Chapter 5 A Pilgrimage to Memphis. 29
Chapter 6 Taillights Down the Road.. 35
Chapter 7 Charlies Nightmare. 51
Chapter 8 Tell Sal 63
Chapter 9 Two Sergeants. 67
Chapter 10 The Cotton Palace. 77
Chapter 11 Barbecue. 85
Looking for Trouble. 91
Chapter 12 The Judge. 97
A History Lesson.. 103
Chapter 13 Missions. 111
Chapter 14 Time to Tell Sal 115
Chapter 15 Charlie’s Turn.. 123
Chapter 16 A Star is Born.. 131
PART II – CHARLIE’S WAR.. 137
Chapter 17 A Marathon of Dreams. 137
Chapter 18 You’re in the Army Now 147
Chapter 19 Boot Camp.. 157
Chapter 20 Off to War. 163
Chapter 21 Hell on Earth Korea November. 167
Retreat from Hell 170
Chapter 22 Home Again.. 175
Chapter 23 Close Encounters of the Elvis Kind.. 191
Chapter 24 Building Bridges. 201
PART III – THE ELVIS YEARS.. 207
Chapter 25 A Second Homecoming. 207
Chapter 26 A Visit With the Presleys. 215
Chapter 27 An Unexpected Jump.. 221
Chapter 28 Reunion.. 229
Chapter 29 A Year Like No Other. 235
Chapter 30 Establishing his Domain.. 239
Half of What You See. 241
Chapter 31 You Aren’t Charlie. 245
PART IV – REVELATION.. 251
Chapter 32 To Reveal or Not. 251
Chapter 33 A Change of Strategy. 257
Chapter 34 Momma’s Gone. 265
Chapter 35 Our Ticket Home. 273
Chapter 36 Some Things You Cannot Change. 281
A Short Journey. 282
Chapter 37 Broken Dream – Broken Promise. 289
Nick of Time. 293
Epilogue. 297
PAUL HOCK – Author Information.. 301
Über den Autor
Paul Hock is an Author, Songwriter, and Artist. Interestingly the inspiration for two of Paul’s books was inspired by songs he has written. ‚A Pilgrimage to Memphis ‚ and ‚The Tree. ‚ Both books were inspired by songs. His first published work is ‚The Serpent’s Eyes ©‘ is a historical fiction adventure novel. It is part one of ‚The Crispin Trilogy ©‘ whose history will be covered over 250 years. It is set in the 1500’s Caribbean with historical figures such as Sir Francis Drake woven into it.