“Forgiving Waters” by Ken Capps
June 15th, 2012 Posted in The SandGram v1.0
Summer book series Number two: “Forgiving Waters” by Ken Capps
About two months ago, I received a phone call from my old Marine buddy Ken Capps, who lives out near New Bern, North Carolina. He was busting at the seams to tell me about his new book coming out this summer.
I wasn’t surprised and but honestly a bit jealous. Ken and I have been close friends since we met back in 1991 while stationed at VMGR 253 in Cherry Point. Ken is the sort of man who is the “Jack of all trades” and frankly “master of them all” which is something that most men can’t claim.
He left the Corps to strike out on his own and is one of those success stories the Marine Corps should be proud of. He had an incredible career and an even more successful one in the civilian world owning a lumber company with a large staff and a fleet of equipment that would make Weyerhaeuser Lumber down there envious.
When I came home from Afghanistan in ‘08, I stayed with Ken for a few days and we discussed plots and ideas for a book that we wanted to write together. I talk a lot about writing a book but actually sitting down and doing it is another matter for me.
Not so for Ken, he actually sat down and pumped out a full no kidding novel and one that my daughter really enjoyed me reading to her.
“Forgiving Waters” is based in the 80’s in a rural town outside of Houston Texas. The main character Beauregard “Bo” Lee Kelso could be modeled after Tommy Lee Jones (if anyone knows him, tell him this script is for him) as the widowed old cattle farmer who is in his final phase of life. He is haunted by past racial hatred that was prevalent in the era that he grew up in back in the thirties.
Life changes for him as he meets two young boys, best friends who live on the boundaries of his ranch. One is white and one black, but skin color matters not to them as they both enjoy the freedom of summer and a friendship that Bo never had as a kid. They melt a spot in his crusty heart and help him release some past demons.
The dialogue is classic, the pace is constant and this could be a perfect Lifetime movie. Clean, well written and timeless. With the race issues of George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin going on as I write,it would be great if this was required reading for young kids to show how times change.
I highly recommend that you include this on your summer reading list and then let your kids take it on. You can download this from Amazon or buy a hard copy. Please let me know what you think of “Forgiving Waters.”
Semper Fi, Taco
Tags: Forgiving Waters, Ken Capps, racial tensions
