Redemption. - Redemption. Part 92
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Redemption. Part 92

The second half of the last century held the years that the Jews became one of the prime forces in American life. Politically, there had been a mess of Jewish congressmen, senators, mayors, and governors of enormous popularity and power. None had won the big enchilada. I suppose the buck stops here.

Had I have been elected governor as Alexander Horowitz, I'd have been just as good for my state. However, the discovery of my birth parents a week before the presidential election could well set off a series of tragic events from the darkness where those who will hate me lay in wait.

How do I bring this to you, folks? In the last few hours I have written, "my fellow Americans" twenty-six times, "a funny thing happened to me on the way to Washington" twenty-one times, and "the American people have the right to know" three dozen times. My wastebasket overfloweth.

Don't cry, little Susie, there will be a Christmas tree on the White House lawn.

No, the White House kitchen will not be kosher. My love of Carnegie tongue and pastrami is not of a religious nature.

By presidential decree, the wearing of a yarmulke is optional.

Israel will not become our fifty-first state.

To tell the truth, my countrymen, I simply do not know what this means in my future. O'Connell was a hell of a good governor, but we are in uncharted waters.

I'm getting a little fuzzy. I can see into the bedroom, where Rita is sprawled in the deep part of a power nap. Rita and our bedroom and her attire are all blended with Colorado hush tones, so soft and light in texture. At the ranch Rita liked to wear those full and colorful skirts like a Mexican woman at fiesta. As she lays there a bit rumpled, I can see up her thighs. I'd give my horse and saddle to be able to crawl alongside her. But then, I'd never finish my Washington's farewell to the troops speech.

On the other hand, Rita and I have made the wildest gung-ho love when we were under the deepest stress.

Write your speech, son, you've got to "face the nation" tomorrow, Rocky Mountain time.

Straight narrative, no intertwining B.S. or politicizing. Explain the O'Connell ne Horowitz phenomenon. Truth, baby, truth. At least truth will not come back to haunt you.

Strange, I should be thinking of Greer at this moment. Rita is the most sensual soul mate one could pray for. We have loved one another without compromise for nearly thirty years. Yet, is it possible that Greer is really the love of my life?

I'd have never come this far in the campaign without Greer Little's genius. I would have been tossed into the boneyard of candidates never heard from again. She organized, she raised money, she knew the political operatives, and she masterminded my "miracle" campaign.

I was struck by the realization that Greer would leave soon, and I felt the same kind of agony as when we broke up years before. I had needed to see Greer on some business, and knocked and entered her room. She had been on the bed with Rita, passed-out drunk. Rita had held her and soothed her as though she were a little girl, and Rita had put her finger to her lips to tell me to be quiet.

Well, there was life without Greer, but there could be no life without Rita. Yet it still hurts.

I watch the hours flow in the passageway behind me like the tick of a suppressed bomb about to be released. I am through with a draft. I write another.

As the hours to dawn tick off, it all seems to come down to the same basic questions. Am I telling the truth? Do the American people have the civility and the decency to take the truth and rise with it?

Why me, Lord? Haven't I had enough of your pranks? Isn't slamming the White House door in my face just a little much, even for Your Holiness? I'm at the landing over the reception foyer of the White House. The Marine band drums up "Hail to the Chief" and the major of the guard proclaims, "The president of the United States and Mrs. Horowitz." Oh, come on now, Lord. Aren't you carrying this a little too far?

Well, all the stories of the good Irish lives are best passed on around the old campfire from schanachie to schanachie, and I'll not spare you mine.

In actual fact, my own beginnings began at the end of World War II, when my future adopted father, Daniel Timothy O'Connell, returned from the Pacific with a couple of rows of ribbons and a decided limp.

About the Author.

Leon Uris earned worldwide acclaim as the author of such bestsellers as A God in Ruins, Redemption, Trinity, Exodus, Milta Pass, Mila 18, QBVII, Topaz, and Armageddon, among others. His first novel, Battle Cry, was published in 1953. Fifty years later, this esteemed author has over 150 million copies in print worldwide. Leon Uris passed away in June 2003.

By Leon Uris.

Battle Cry.

The Angry Hills.

Exodus.

Mila 18 Armageddon Topaz.

QB VII.

Trinity.

The Haj Mitla Pass Redemption.

A God in Ruins O'Hara's Choice.

Critical Acclaim for Leon Uris and Redemption.

"Uris is to the twentieth century what Charles Dickens was to the nineteenth."

-Associated Press.

"[Uris pulls] all his characters together like a master puppeteer...Vivid and engrossing.... Uris has created some interesting characters...and given them plenty of reasons to love and hate one another."

-Chicago Tribune.

"He us a master at combining with research and historical detail.... Compelling descriptions...[with] three of the most exceptional female characters ever to appear in a Uris novel.... When you turn that last page, it will have been worth your while."

(San Diego) Blade Citizen.

"A master at weaving historical fact and fiction."

-USA Today.

"Invites the reader in for a few hundred pages around the fire to hear the sprawling saga of the Larkin family, a turn-of-the-century Irish clan...Fortunately for the happy-go-lucky reader, Mr. Uris knows how to keep a book on the best-seller list for 100 weeks at a time.... It's all quite fun and colorfully portrayed...The result is a thoroughly readable, insightful saga that lingers long after the book itself is put down."

-Washington Sunday Times.

"As always, Uris deftly manages a cast of hundreds and propels his narrative along at a swift and satisfying pace. Uris and Redemption deserve another long sojourn on the best-seller lists."

-The Chattanooga Times.

"The narrative clips along...rivaling the best of his earlier work. Few writers who have tackled the Troubles have exhibited the scope or the skills Uris demonstrates here."

-Publishers Weekly.

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