Clark Thomas Riley

Patchwork, a Pioneer's Story Clark Thomas Riley

Julie Martin is preparing to graduate from high school. For the aspiring engineer, this time should be the happiest of her life. It is not. Instead, between the grim realities after The Troubles and her beloved father's grave illness, Julie's future seems anything but bright. Her determination and love of engineering, of flying, and of Ellie Martin carry her forward into college. She finds her soul mate in Jim Norton, and is presented with the chance of all lifetimes ever to be an ultimate pioneer. The truth is that pioneers are not anchored to a particular time or place in history. A pioneer is one of a rare breed of individuals, willing to leave everything familiar and comfortable, to undertake a journey of unknowable risks and perils to an uncertain destination, aware that there will be no return. The company of pioneers comprises far more than pilots and navigators. Pioneers are crafts-people, trades-people, farmers, greengrocers, teachers, artists, tailors, mechanics, and electrians - all those whose skills and passions stitch together to form the quilt of a good life, a beautiful patchwork. This is one pioneer's story.