Behind The Lies went to the publisher today

Behind The Lies-the book you might be reading excerpts of on this site has been sent to the publisher and I am now awaiting a call from my publishing account representative.

Writing the book took twenty-six months, finding a good publisher and editing took another year. Now with most of the work done except for final proofs I can relax some.

Hopefully you enjoyed all or some of the excerpts. I will continue to post more as the book has a prologue, one hundred- five chapters and a final epilogue.

I would love to hear your comments if you would take the time to post them.

I will be adding my website for this book as soon as it is online.

Chapter Thirty-Four Heading to Bandar Abbas

It takes three whole nights of travel to arrive near Jask. Again, they choose a remote area, dig in and bury their gear. They stow what they won't need for the next leg and refill the hole, disguising it well. "I suggest we move out a couple of hours, to distance ourselves from the site, just in case," proposes Schwartz.

"I agree. Let's head north until, say,0430, then find ourselves a spot to sit out the daylight hours." The night is windy, which is annoying but also in their favor. As they travel, the wind saves them one chore, obliterating their tracks in the swirling sands.

Still winter here

My camera has been sent in for repair. Apparently a defective part that Canon will fix. Meanwhile I offer an old photo of Lake Massabesic. I loved the sign, especially the no swimming part.

Happy New Year 2009

what if . . .

what if women ran the world,
would love win over hate?
would child care be easier to find,
safe and more affordable?
nursing babies in public more acceptable?
or would people lapse into depression,
alcoholism and suicide
thinking there weren't enough challenges left . . .

what if children ran the world,
would every child have a clean
and safe house to live in?
enough food and clothing,
loving parents and friends?
or would childhood bullies take over
making another have and have-not society
no change at all . . .

in California blue wildflowers bloom
among the trash strewn on the sides
of highway 405
smog reaches out even to the desert
shrouding the mountains
smog from factories in Ohio
travels to New Hampshire
clouding our clear skies in summer
and bringing acid rain to our
beautiful pristine lakes

what if we put God in the center,
would we clean up the environment?
take better care of each other?
stop thinking of someone different as "other"?
or lose focus on the material world,
and only think of the world to come?

each year as the ball descends on Times Square
people toast another new year
each year we listen to the blast of the shofar
another new year
each year the dragon dances in Chinatown
so many new years
so many hopes and prayers
for peace, for good health and happiness
may they be answered soon
and in our times
so I can stop asking "what if ..."

copyright 2003 Linda H. Feinberg

after the biopsy

inner peace and joy
my goal so elusive
a moment captured here or there
through nature or music

chanting in the shower or car
I feel calm and grateful
for this life
for this moment
for not having cancer

birds and chipmunks chattering
almost spring
hiking in Hooksett we find
the trail still frozen in places
muddy in others
ice starting to melt in the marshes
water running in small falls
a beautiful sound
energetic but calming
at the same time

I take digital photos and put one
on my computer as background
the frozen pond with multi-colored ice
brown wispy grass
beautiful granite boulders
and tall pine trees
God as artist in all seasons
another small moment of joy
revealed on a computer screen


copyright 2004 Linda H. Feinberg

The winter photo above was taken at Dube's Pond, Hooksett, New Hampshire. I recently sold about 20 cards with this scene.

While this poem was written four years ago, last week I had a breast biopsy again. This lump turned out to be fibro adenoma (a benign tumor). That's why I thought about this old poem.

We had a wonderful weekend retreat on Cape Code with a havurah. Lots of singing, workshops, prayers, ruach (Hebrew word for spirit. The English does not express it as well.) The snow was too deep to walk on the beach, but we walked down and enjoyed watching the seagulls and the water.

Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas to all our readers. May you be blessed with a happy, healthy and joyous new year. Light a candle, say a prayer, and dispel the darkness...

Chapter Thirty-Three Fourth Week in August

Kamil Hussein and Hamid Akham are sitting in the conference room of the Iranian Secret Police building, tired and haggard from the long journey home. They both want to just drop off to sleep.

The phone in the room rings, jolting them out of their growing stupor. Hamid answers, "Jibril Atwan has asked me to inform you that he is on his way to the office. You are to continue to wait in the conference room," says a male voice. "He said you are to make yourselves comfortable."

Kamil asks himself, "How can anyone be comfortable sitting in any room in this building?"

Chapter Thirty-Two Reporting to Jibril

Jibril suddenly looks up and interrupts their confused thoughts, as if there had been no break in the conversation. "Overall, you did well on your first assignment," he tells them. "I have one of our people checking into how much usable nuclear material we can expect to find in one of their projectiles."

"If our people think it is possible to use that material, do you think he is capable of dismantling the projectiles as we asked?" asks Hamid.

"From what I am told, he will do anything for the right price," Jibril says sarcastically.

Ice Storm December 2008

Power is back on at our house. Unfortunately, many others are still waiting. The inside temp dropped to 52 degrees on Friday without heat and power. The downtown had power, so we ate out! Lots of restaurants open. Luckily, neither of us is seriously bothered by the cold, so we had our long johns on, double sweaters and were fine. Glad to get the electricity and heat back though. I don't know how people managed to read by candlelight. Maybe that Abe Lincoln/log cabin story is a myth.

Chapter Thirty-One NSA's Surprise

"John for some reason you look very perky this morning. What have you got up your sleeve?"

"Well sir, my regular report is the same old, same old, that you gave Allison. However, our people have been monitoring the suspected Israeli covert team and they have spent three to four days at the Bampur site. They are now moving, reversing their movements towards their original deployment position."

"Sounds like they want to get out of Dodge,"says the president. "I wonder what the hell they found out. When you see they are evacuated I want to be notified. Then Allison and I are going to have a little talk with their prime minister and the Mossad."

"Sir, you will know as soon as they are removed from shore," remarks John Walker.

Chapter Thirty Real Issue

Kamil decides to open the conversation. "Dimitri, have you found the special rods our client is looking for?"

"Yes and no."

"What do you mean by yes and no?"

"We have found a supply of spent rods that are still located in a reactor that is not functioning. To get them out would take many skilled people and would certainly draw a lot of attention.

"We have located some projectiles that are, shall we say, unaccounted for; they should be able to serve whatever purpose you need the rods for."

Hamid goes on to say, "We are not looking to ship projectiles. We are interested in purchasing those gear box housings to move nuclear materials you said you found. The projectiles are useless to our client."

Dimitri then says, "You will have to reprocess the rods; the materials inside of the projectiles should be usable without remanufacturing them."

Kamil replies, "We will advise our client of your dilemma. We will also tell them of your suggestion. I would suggest that you find a way of removing the materials in question if we are to reach an agreement."