The Author

Author Jeffrey Freeman, Jeff to everyone, is seventy-two years young, sometimes. Two years in the United States Marine Corps, one of which was spent in Vietnam in an artillery outpost (Hill 55 OP Laugh) roughly twenty miles south of Da Nang. I attained E-4 rank, got out of the Corps, went to college, got my BBA, wasted eighteen months of my life at a stinking bank. Then Wall Street beckoned, and I became a millionaire before age thirty. I did it at a great firm, EFHutton. I’m proud to say I made a lot of money for the majority of my clients in the twenty years I was there. I specialized in profit sharing plans and the management of those assets. Over $150 million in management and care using a fiduciary capacity at Hutton was permitted while in the University of Virginia CFA program. Fluent in several languages, ironically, none in Italian were used in this book. Ciao. Went to UPenn at The Wharton and did the MBA ’86. I retired from the money game in 1990 and started a construction company, several homes, a few strip malls in southeast Michigan. Then Agent Orange, not shrapnel from Vietnam, caught up with my health. I retired, again. Then I began writing. Along the way, I re-established friendships with people in the money business. One was Tom Clancy. We picked each other’s brains throughout the years as he lacked actual military experience. It was mutually beneficial. Miss you, Tom. I hope you and Rush are havin’ a hellova great time somewhere, smackin’ that little white ball around the court! I’ve been around the world, seen as much as I thought possible, loved many women, two were quite extraordinary, was married, and learned I’m not very good at it. I have kids. My son Mark; his wife, T; and their two kids, Haley and Alex, are special beyond words. They are in my mind always. Love you. And Michigan will soon be in my rear-view mirror. Heading south where three months less snow and winter sounds much better! Maybe fishing off a Hatteras’ deck, with maybe a nice first mate to keep my interest and who can read a compass, as well as a book who might be an inspiration for my next novel. I hope you enjoyed this one.

– Jeff