Texas Triangle Volume 1

About the Book

In 1964 Thom Ira Katt handed his instructions to his youngest son, Melvin Rea Katt. He advised him that when he finished high school, he wasn't going to stay in Deadwood kissin' those white folk's butts saying, "Yah Suh, and No Suh." He was going to California to live with his Lil Aunt, so he could make something of himself. Of course, living with Lil Aunt and his cousin Dottie in Watts, (South Central L.A.) proved to be a real challenge. Melvin Rea didn't like women telling him what to do. They not only told him what to do, but what to say and how to act.

Ambition was one thing, yet financial resources were another. Young Melvin Rea became a master barber with less than a modest income which forced him to take on other jobs. As time progressed he acquired employment with one of the largest oil companies in Southern California as a truck driver, while working as a barber part time. He was "a little piece of leather, but well put together." Although affirmative action was well intact, it was very difficult for a black man to keep a job.

In the meantime he began studying business law, real estate, insurance and securities investments. Some years later he was stricken with an illness that was potentially lethal - the medical term is Multiple Sclerosis (MS). During his bout with MS Melcin Rea soon discovered that Social Security is "A Real Mutha For Yah." He successfully sued three insurance companies simultaneously for bad faith and received one hundred and sixty-five thousand of those pretty little green ones. After battling Social Security for five years, he and his wife Tracy moved back to Deadwood, Texas - they are now living the Texas Triangle.

About the Author

The book chronicles a young man's journey from humble beginnings in the south, travels and education in the west, and triumphs over adversities of middle age. It provides a glimpse of the core meaning of friends and family through the eyes of a man who has paid his dues…and then some.