From a 13 Year Old Hobo to an Entrepreneur

Writer's Digest Criticism Service
PO Box 12291
Cincinnati, OH 45212-0291

Dear Mr. Gracey:
I found From a 13-Year-old Hobo to an Entrepreneur to be entertaining and instructive. The entrepreneurial minority needs all the homegrown literature it can get. The rest of the world needs to have a better idea of what risk-taking is what it feels like, and why it should be rewarded when it succeeds.

Like so many people with courage, you come from a background that required you to have it if you were to exist at all. This makes a good story. Running away at thirteen is fairly ordinary, but staying on your own--now that's a rarity.

Your book holds the reader's interest all the way through. Confusion of intention is nowhere to be found in your writing. In physical appearance your typescript is among the most attractive the Criticism Service has ever sent me. The illustrations are especially appealing. Even better are the preliminary pages with ISBN information. These say: "I mean business. Take me seriously." Good. You succeed at once in convincing the reader that you are not a fuzz-brained beginner.

You should, I believe, go ahead and publish this. The world needs tales of persistence and gumption. We need more true-life stories of enduring marriages. Yours has plainly had more quicksand than most, but the seriousness with which you and Dorothy took your vows is like quiet thunder. Others would enjoy hearing it through the pages of your very worthwhile book.

Respectfully,
T. Russell Wingate
B.A. (history), UCLA, 1968
M.A. (history), UCSB, 1970
M.B.A., University of Phoenix, 1989

"There will never be enough stories of courage and persistence. Everett Gracey has put his true story of grit and gumption down in black and white so all of us can realize we're not alone in our need to take risks and persevere. And thanks, Everett, for reminding us that, if we approach life with a sense of humor, it greases the rails."
-- Mary Westheimer
President, BookZone.com

"I can think of more than a few young people and adults alike that would benefit from Everett's experience, wisdom and humor."
--Lisa Giacopelli
Publishers Marketing Association

Author Bio
This story hopefully could help our many troubled teenagers today to let them know what tough times are all about. Some teenagers today feel that they have tough times. They complain if they don't have a new car at age 16. Some drop out of school and really mess up their lives. My advice is to stay in school! Study hard! Get that diploma as in today's job market you need that piece of paper. This story is about a 13-year-old boy dropping out of school at age 13 to be a "cowboy" during the "Great Depression." The boy traveled around the western part of the USA from 1935 to 1939 riding freight trains, looking for work so he could eat. He worked in rodeos, ranches, or whatever type of work that could be found. He got married in 1940 (still married to Dorothy his first love.) Family life got interrupted during World War II, (Received the Silver Star, Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.) He kept trying to find that "ideal" job. He finally ended up as a manufacturer of two-way radio equipment for the commercial and Amateur (ham) radio market.