For adults, this story will rekindle wonderful memories of their own youthful mistakes and triumphs along their path to graduation from high school. Young readers will find it inspirational and beneficial for when they face similar obstacles during their own school days, and they will become convinced that dreams can come true. Seasons of Triumph was authored by Kenny Fields, a former Navy jet combat pilot and award winning author of the book, The Rescue of Streetcar 304, which is a true story about his combat mission during which his plane was shot down over enemy territory. Kenny is the son of a coal miner and in Seasons of Triumph he tells how his daily activities and inter-action with coal miners caused him to choose a military career and trained him for what lay ahead for him in a jungle within Laos. In doing so, he spins humorous but sometimes sad tales about life as a youngster and teenager during the '40s and '50s in scattered coal mining camps in McDowell County, West Virginia and Breathitt County, Kentucky, with one year of city life in Lockland, Ohio. The central theme of the story is Kenny's struggle to fulfill the goals he set for himself to achieve before graduation from high school. He dreams about becoming a star on his high school athletic teams and going steady with a girl, but to fulfill both he has to hurdle over three obstacles. He has to convince his overly restrictive mother to release her apron like string like hold on him. He has to overcome his small physique to play with the big boys. And he has to stop being bashful when around girls. Still, Kenny doesn't give up. He pursues his goals with dogged persistence, courage, religious faith, and the support of family, friends and coaches. And along the way, Kenny's heartwarming memories of home life, roaming the mountains and rivers with wild abandon, school activities, competing with teammates, and dating girls provide a nostalgic look back in time at the daily lives of his real-life characters. Every reader will relate to Kenny's triumph over adversity, and sometimes bad decisions while doing so.
