Russ Peery grew up in Madison, Connecticut, not far from Long Island Sound. He joined the US Navy near the end of World War II, graduated from Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania in 1949 and from Andover Newton Theological School in Massachusetts in 1953. He served one parish in Maine and several in Connecticut. Before he turned fifty, a three-week course in woodworking at Penland Craft School began Russ's transformation from hobbyist to profession woodworker. Eventually his work was in galleries all over the country. Russ and his wife, Merle, have been married for more than 40 years. They moved from Connecticut to Tennessee in 1986, then to the Good Samaritan Society-Kissimmee Village, Kissimmee, Florida, in 2011. Russ has two children from his first marriage, an adopted daughter from his second, plus several grandchildren and great grandchildren. Russ has always liked to write, but did not get serious about writing poetry until near the end of the last century. His readers, whom Merle calls his "congregation", eagerly anticipate his new poems (posted almost daily at http: //www.russpeery.com), relish his fresh perspectives on the common things of life, and share deeply in the emotions and observations he so clearly articulates. You will find that Russ's words offer hope, amusement, contemplation, and wonderment. Open up this book and experience Russ Peery at his finest! He will seem like an old friend.