Before The Badge: Growing Up In Alaska--Short Stories

Andy Anderson

Dec 2018 · Publication Consultants

About this ebook

At 16 years of age I quit school and moved to Alaska. I was a kid in a man's world and for the next 15 years I took on a myriad of jobs to survive. I had some harrowing experiences and I lived a very exciting life during that time period. Being born on a farm, I was introduced to the operation of equipment at a very young age and I found myself working in jobs that involved machinery and its operation. In 1979 I became a Police Officer and my career lasted nearly 32 years. The seven short stories in Before The Badge outline many of my life's experiences between 1964 and 1979. It tells of a young man's life as he is becoming a man and, when doing so, gets involved in many things which are educational, exciting and at times, life threatening. The seven stories are all true.

Ratings and reviews

What a pleasant surprise this book was! I was simply doing a search in Google to see if I could locate any old Army buddies whose names I could remember and: Voila! The name of a friend I had served with in the Army Paratroopers popped up as a character in the author's book. I read the relevant story and was gleefully surprised when I discovered the person I sought turned out to be a relative-by-marriage to the author. I found the excerpt to be interesting and engaging on several levels. Mr. Anderson's writing style is accurately descriptive and his presentation of characters and events connects with the emotions of the reader on a level that participates in the emotional challenges of these book's characters. Thanks, Mr. Anderson for sharing a part of my friend Harry Yuth's life that affirms my appreciation for him as a gentle, strong, and quiet man equipped to meet the challenges of life with a calmness that was palpable to those around him. His sense of humor was often surprising

About the author

Andy Anderson, born on a farm in southern Illinois, left home and moved to Alaska as a teenager. He quickly found out what it was to live in the real world, and having to work many different types of jobs simply to survive. By working hard, and being honest, he found many doors opened for him. Andy was given the chance to prove himself in many different occupations where he learned different skills. He's worked operating all kinds of heavy equipment, ran tugboats and dive boats on oil related jobs, worked as a logger running heavy equipment, and served as Chief of Police for Seldovia, Alaska for nearly 32 years. Before the Badge deals with his Alaska life from 1964 to 1979—before being a sworn police officer. Andy hopes you will find his short stories interesting and entertaining.