I have had the extraordinary good fortune and privilege of getting to meet in person two of my favorite authors: Dr. Ferrol Sams of Fayetteville, GA, and Vince Flynn of Boston. I will never forget either encounter. I have read all of their published works, and was excited to see each new volume appear in print.

I was given Ferrol Sams’ first book, “Run With the Horsemen,” as a Christmas present, in the late 1970’s, by the older sister of a younger woman I had met the summer after my last year in graduate school. I had stayed in town at the specific request of a friend, a fellow graduate student, to help him build the set for a play that was his graduate thesis project.

The real benefit for my staying in town that summer, it later became apparent, was to meet the young woman who showed up in the scene shop one day, early that June, to volunteer. We had never seen one of those before! We hit it off, and became close friends. Her parents and family adopted me, and I them, and we have remained close to this day; even though most of that family have now gone on to their greater rewards. They have made an enormous difference in my life.

“Horseman” was a thick book, in fine print; but once I got started on it, I could not put it down. I think I read all 300+ pages in three days, once I got back home. It was about his growing up in a small town in middle Georgia in the 1930’s, and it was hilarious!

There were two more books in the eventual trilogy: “Whisper of the River,” about his later adventures at Mercer University; and “When All the World Was Young,” about his brief service in England towards the end of World War II. All fascinating works.

When Dr. Sams came to Savannah for a book signing event when his third book was published, I jumped at the opportunity. It was held in a small room at the back of the DeSoto Hilton Hotel in downtown Savannah, just across the street from E. Savers Bookstore, always my first stop when I’m looking for a book. (If they don’t have it, they can get it, usually within a week.)

When his talk was over, I had to step up and ask him if the “story about the mule” in the first book was true? “Oh, yes,” he replied; “every word!”

Those who have read that book will remember the story of the first time he was given a mule as a young boy and told to plow a field; but the mule did not want to do that, and delayed by continually farting, until he finally had the bright idea of lighting a match underneath its tail to see what would happen. The resulting (minor) explosion took the mule by surprise, and it took off, and wound up in the next county before it ran out if steam! I just laughed and laughed.

The next book of his I read was a collection of short stories called “The Widow’s Mite,” after the first story in the book. It recounts the tale of a young woman whose husband is unexpectedly killed, and she then stood to collect on a $50,000 life insurance policy he had recently taken out.

When the word got out in their small town that she was coming into this bonanza, the first person who came knocking on her door was their local preacher, who tried very hard to convince her that his church should get a 10% “tithe” from that life insurance policy.

Of course, the harder he tries to convince her, the more the reader thinks he is in fact digging his own grave, so to speak. The ending was a surprising twist, and the rest of the book was just as delicious! (Makes me glad I am a reader.)

Rafe Semmes is a proud graduate of (“the original”) Savannah High School and the University of Georgia. He and his wife live in eastern Liberty County, and are long-time Rotarians. He writes on a variety of topics, and may be reached at rafe_semmes@yahoo.com.