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A Quest for Justice (With a J not a j)

by Kay Plitt

121 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #07-0360; ISBN 1-4251-1953-0; US$13.50, C$15.52, EUR10.53, £6.98

Greed - a highly motivating factor in people's lives. What is it about the acquisition of money that seems to make people lose their sense of right and wrong - good and evil?

About the Book

This story covers a six-year (and still ongoing) saga of one family's attempts to find Justice (not just justice) for an elderly uncle seen as a small town's eccentric character. The gentleman in question is not competent to care for himself on the personal level, but he is a fairly successful farmer in rural North Carolina nonetheless. It is his wish to die out on his tractor, doing what he has loved doing for most of his 80+ years. As long as he has someone taking care of him, he is fine; however, without that support he is susceptible to all kinds of conniving individuals. A live-in maid/housekeeper, a newly acquired wife at the age of 81, a land speculator, so-called friends - all of these people step in to take advantage of a lonely old man needing someone to love him.

It is a tale based on sibling relationships, as much as anything else, and it touches on how schizophrenia can step in and destroy such relationships. This double-edged-sword illness creates both the humor and the pathos in the lives of people it touches, and the unsuspecting family members who get involved in this story are swept up in a situation they had never anticipated.

Out of respect for his mother's request that he have nothing to do with her older brother, the nephew in the story hasn't seen nor talked with his uncle for over thirty years. A phone call announcing his marriage at age 81, however, spins everything into a swirling tizzy of action, reaction, and retroaction. Six years (plus) of financial, legal, and personal herky-jerky takes its toll, but the end result is as satisfying as it is possible to be under the circumstances. Justice prevails (not just justice), and we end up being wiser than we thought we were, with our senses of humor intact, and with a growing appreciation for all of those who work for the mentally ill wherever they may be.

About the Author

Born the seventh of seven daughters, Kay (Hester) Plitt was raised in Loveland, Colorado, and she received a B.A. in Elementary Education from Colorado State College (as it was known then). Peace Corps experience in Sierra Leone, West Africa, helped shape her world view. She and her husband, Bill, have two sons, Todd and Jeff, two delightful daughters-in-law, Katie and Kirstin, and one sweet, sweet grandson, Jackson. Bill and Kay are currently residing in Arlington, Virginia, where she is seeking to make some dreams come true through writing a few children's books and getting her CD recording of songs about "Caring for Our Children" illustrated and published.

The author has another Trafford title: My Basket: A Story About Jackson Buchanan Plitt and His Basket

Excerpts