Learning To Twirl

Two devout teenagers faced love amid tragedy circa 1969. An Army enlistment during the Vietnam Conflict promised career opportunities but tore their dreams apart.

As a Roman Catholic, Nancy knew better than to succumb to temptation. She was following the example of her two older sisters: one a nun, and the other a wife who’d had three children in quick succession. But when a sweet-talking devilishly-handsome boy began charming her, it wasn’t just her baton that was twirling. It was her heart.

Peter knew he shouldn’t resent his older brother, the golden boy. Terry excelled in sports, academics, and winning friends leaving Peter stuck at home milking cows. Their parents expected Peter to hold down the farm when Terry’s world was upended by an accident. Once Peter fell for a beautiful red-haired angel, he knew his prayers had been answered.

Later, while Peter performed his patriotic duty in Vietnam, he discovered his brother was ambushing him on the home front, about to steal his cherished wife and daughter. Did his devotion to the Army’s cause create an unbridgeable rift in his marriage?

Return to the mythical Capital High School in Lincoln, Nebraska, for the third in the Twirler Quartet series that delivers more heartbreak and joy at a time when naïve teenage boys were being drafted, surprised college students were being attacked at protest marches, and the president promised peace and love to the youth of America.