jackie battles

These short stories recount the ever present dangers to youngsters with too much time, too little supervision, and boundless imaginations. Their lives in Arkansas' east bottoms were defined by buckshot gumbo land, hard liquor, and poverty...but these graduates of the "University of Hard Knocks" grew up to be educators, preachers, and a country Gospel singer.
See the humor, but also God's longsuffering, in their near-death encounters, out-of-body experiences, and survival strategies. Like the Hebrew Children, these were forged in and products of the "iron furnace".