· Kathryn Anderson for her patience in the transforming of my very rough handwritten, often untranslatable drafts, into a workable, readable manuscript.
· Kathleen Fisher for her counseling on what I have said, what I might have meant to say and what I could say.
· Melissa Beasley and Myers Brown, manager and curator at Joseph Wheeler's Pond Spring, for their help with the biographical and historical elements of my story.
· Peggy F. Owens-Mansfield for her love, forbearance, and countless gifts to my live - the foremost being her belief in me.
· A special acknowledgement to the folks at Hardee's, US 84 East, Laurel, Mississippi. Trish and the crew are good people and the tolerate me. It is my "office" where most of this book was written. Bill's Pool Room in Fayetteville, Tennessee and Moonlight Chili in Batavia, Ohio are my branch "offices". My table desk at Hardee's faces the rising sun. I greet its light most everyday there. I've found this place to be a special oasis for me and thousands of other pilgrims on their many different journeys. I've seen many faces of life and overheard many testimonies; sad, loving, indifferent, mean, desperate, hateful, grace-full, tired, disdainful, happy, kind and some beyond parody. Buddha in ancient time counseled his disciples as he died to "stay awake". I find that to be a good way to live, honor life and love the Creator Spirit and all creation.
The mistakes in this work are all mine. Any misuse or confused application of others' contributions is regretted.
-DMM