Fred was raised on a farm in Kansas in the days before World War II. He was a feisty, scrappy, country boy, and his youthful antics will amaze you, make you laugh, and sometimes shake your head. You will get an intimate glimpse of life in a long-ago rural setting—an interesting, hilarious reminiscence of a long-lost life style, one which produced strong adults.

In many ways, Fred was just an ordinary guy. While his family adores him, most folks would say he never accomplished anything of note. He never became famous, he never won an election, he never held a prestigious job, and he never became rich, at least not materially. He never strayed far from his roots in Kansas. His feisty nature brought him a fair amount of grief, but it also sustained him through many tough times.

Although Fred attended church as a small child, he was not interested in spiritual things. In fact, the God he heard about at church seemed rather frightening. He was an angry, vengeful God, and certainly not a God of love. It was Nadine, who later became his wife, who introduced him to a loving God, and his life was changed forever. When Nadine told him that God loved him, it was a shock, because he believed that you had to earn God's love by doing certain things. The realization that God loved him, and didn't require anything in return, inspired Fred to turn his life over to God. The rest of the story was simply miraculous.