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Gotcha! It was 1987. I'd lost my job. I was looking for something to do. It was 1988. I was a stay at home dad. I began reading to my kids all the time. It was 1989. I was a Junior Great Books volunteer at my children's school. I wondered if I could write a book. I started writing about a kid who found himself under attack by dinosaurs. I was so engosed with my writing that when the phone rang I just about had a heart attack. It seemed like a good omen. It was 1991. I had mostly finished my book. It was the year before a national election. I was aggravated with "politics as usual," "big money," and I had a plan. If I could self publish my book and sell it to contributors I could raise enough for a credible campaign for Congress. It was an audacious plan, especially for someone who had lost two previous races for the state legislature and two races for the Duluth School Board. What the heck. Damn the wise counsel. Full speed ahead. So I ran. I didn't sell many books. I didn't win the race. But, I got more votes than Abe Lincoln got in the whole state when he ran for President in 1860 and I only ran in one of eight Minnesota Congressional Districts. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. There weren't many people here back in 1860 but still.- I got 7% of the vote running as an Independent. I wasn't the only person POed with politics. Of course, after the election I was stuck with all those books; books in which I had inserted the speech that got me booed off the podium at a Republican convention. It wasn't exactly what you'd expect to find at the end of a kid's adventure fantasy book. It was a terrible marketing error. I thought I'd keep them. Its a lot of space in a land fill and you never can tell what might become a collectible in the peculiar book department. Hey, I've got 5,000 first editions! Want one? Just send me a check for $8.50 (made out to me) to: Harry Welty 2101 E 4th St. Duluth, MN 55812 If people actually start ordering my book I may have to reestablish my old publishing company and figure out how to set up an ordering system for credit cards on the net.
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