March 24, 1968

RFK in Los Angeles:

"Together we can make ourselves a nation that spends
more on books than on bombs, more on hospitals than
the terrible tools of war, more on decent houses than
military aircraft."

March 23, 1968

RFK campaigning in California:

"I believe that the men and women of America will
win new leadership, for themselves and their country.
And out of this effort will come the spirit of discussion
and debate, of confrontation and cooperation, which
will begin to bridge the gaps--of age, of belief, of race,
that have so divided the nation."

5 NOVELS

This is the cover spread for my next book,
5 NOVELS, 330 pages to be published in April.
You will be able to order it from Amazon.com.
This book is a compilation of five novels written
2000-2005: Jackson Ferocious, Harmonica,
Velocipede, Rose Petal Lantern and Copper Kettle.
The characters include a circus giant, clockwork animals,
shapeshifters, detectives, movie stars and time travelers
in a land that shifts from Aztlan to America, past,
present and future. Another adventure in reading from
Good Deed Rain.

Robert F. Kennedy is still alive in
another world of fiction. At the end
of my research, I return to reading
Robert Ellis Gordon's book:
WHEN BOBBY KENNEDY WAS
A MOVING MAN.

"I remember how the dresser seemed
to follow Bobby's gaze as it rose several
feet, hovered briefly above the truck bed,
slid horizontally through the air..."

I've since finished rereading this wonderful
book. It's been a while since I read it first
and in light of the new book I'm writing
I was hoping to contact Robert to tell him
how much I enjoyed it and run some things
by him that I've been thinking about regarding
that mythical Robert F. Kennedy. Alas, I found
this site instead:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-loeb/life-lessons-from-a-dying_b_277299.html
and learned that Robert Ellis Gordon is dead too.

Also, I'm pretty sure I might have met Robert
way back when. I had some connections
to the moving men in Seattle he writes about
on Eastlake and roundabouts. I used to live
by the American Artificial Limb Company
he writes about on page 166. I swear
I remember talking to him.

March 21, 1968

RFK in Nashville, Tennessee:

"We know that our happiness will come not from goods we have,
but from the good we do together. And as this is true at home,
so it is true in the world." 

March 18, 1968

RFK at Kansas State University:

"I am concerned--as I believe most Americans
are concerned--that our present course will not
bring victory, will not bring peace, will not stop
the bloodshed, and will not advance the interests
of the United States or the cause of peace in
the world."

47 years ago

Of course I realize that 47 years ago exactly,
Robert F Kennedy was campaigning for president.
On March 16, 1968 he announced his candidacy:

"I do not run for the presidency merely to oppose
any man but to propose new politics. I run because
I am convinced this country is on a perilous course
and because I have such strong feelings about
what must be done that I feel I am obliged to do
all I can." 

reading RFK

I've been researching Robert F Kennedy
for the book I'm currently writing.
Finished reading eight books about him:
"The Last Campaign" by Thurston Clarke;
"Robert Kennedy" by Evan Thomas,
"Make Gentle the Life of the World",
"American Journey" by Jean Stein,
"On His Own" by William Vanden Hennel,
"Bobby Kennedy The Making of a Folk Hero"
by Lester David, "A Time It Was" photographs,
"The Gospel According to RFK: Why It
Matters Now" by Norman MacAfee.

RFK

"America was  a great force in the world, with immense prestige,

long before we became a great military power...Neither can we 

forget that the real constructive force in the world comes not 

from bombs, but from imaginative ideas, warm sympathies, 

and a generous spirit. These are qualities that cannot be 

manufactured by specialists in public relations. They are the 

natural qualities of a people pursuing decency and human 

dignity without arrogance or hostility or delusions of 

superiority toward others; a people whose ideals for others 

are firmly rooted in the realities of the society we have built 

for ourselves."

box of Roosevelts

praise for ROOSEVELT

Praise for ROOSEVELT from poet and publisher, Larry Smith:

"This is a lovely book both for its gently weaving story of
a young boy and a lost elephant, and for the fine drawings
of Fred Sodt. It moves like a real dream in a setting in time
and place...Bellingham, Washington at mid-20th century.
Allen Frost is an accomplished poet and fiction writer,
and he finds a home for his gifts in this gentle tale.
It's a feat of magic to write for both youth and adults,
one he may have learned from keeping a youthful spirit
alive, one he have have fed from knowing the spirit of
his own children. We can be thankful for it. This book
is a real delight delivered with care from an independent
small press, good deed rain."


This is the cover of one of  Larry Smith's many
wonderful books:

coronet

I'm nearly to the end of my third notebook
writing the sequel to ROOSEVELT, summoning
the early 1960s and overnight this mysterious old
black car parked in front of our house.