We all have free will, and are answerable for our actions, but when our most important life decisions are based on childhood brainwashing, abuse, mis-information, and societal pressures, we are destined to make some poor decisions. Should we be forced to suffer for these poor decisions our entire life, or do we have the right to escape from those bad decisions, even if it causes distress for others? The author says yes, we do. We have a right to change the course of our lives such that we free ourselves to pursue the correct path that leads us to happiness and fulfillment. This is the theme of Escaping the Plantation. The plantation in this case being the marriage, corporation, government or religious group that demands we slave for them with little or no reward, and seeks to punish us if we refuse. Only by removing ourselves from the plantation can we ever hope to be truly free. And so that is what we must do. Escape. That is the theme of the five short stores contained herein. The first and last are true and are based on the author's personal experience. The other three are mostly fictional, but are representative of the predicaments many of us find ourselves in. I'm sure you will enjoy all five and benefit from them. Steve Walker
About the Author: Steve Walker was born in Long Beach, CA in 1946. After finishing high school, he left home and lived alone in apartments for two years, while working at low skilled jobs to support himself. He then received his military draft notice and volunteered to join the United States Marine Corps. After six months of training, he was sent to Vietnam as a rifleman, or grunt. He survived a full year of combat before going home. He immediately enrolled at Long Beach City College, where he graduated two years later, then enrolled at Cal Poly Pomona as an Electronic Engineering student. After graduating with a B.S. in Engineering, he went to work for Hughes Aircraft in Culver City, where he worked for eight years designing weapons. He married a Korean lady in 1975 and has been married to her for forty years. He has two children and two grandchildren. He has traveled to forty-four countries in the past fifty years. He worked as an engineer for 38 years, then retired and has written three books in the last eight years. His other two books are 'Bad Day at Bikini Beach', and 'Eighteen With a Bullet'. All three are available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle format.