D Allen Henry [Henry - Finding Patience

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Photo by Toscana of Castiglion Fiorentino,Italy

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Finding Patience may beread as a standalone novel, or it may be viewed as a sequel toEnlisting Redemption, the characters beingrelated, but the plotlines independent. The idea for Finding Patience was born from my own experiences,travels, loves, and losses, spanning a lifetime. While the storyitself, including all of the characters, is entirely fictional, theplaces are not. Indeed, I have attempted to portray historicalevents herein as accurately as possible. Where I have erred, Ioffer my sincere apologies. I hope that this account will providean enlightening and enjoyable experience for you the reader.

D.A.H.

Fig. 1 Map Showing Gloucestershire, graphicdrawn by the author {{PD-dallenhenry}}

The reader will notice that throughout thetext I have delineated sections by the use of boldface titles.These titles normally describe the setting location and date forthat section. However, when only a date is included, it is impliedthat the location for that section is identical to that of theprevious section. Furthermore, each section begins with a fewboldface words immediately after the section setting. The name ofthe first person included in boldface within the section isintended to be the person whose perspective is taken within thatsection of the text.

1615 Alan Sutherland is appointedthe first Earl of Winston by King James I of

England

1883 William Sutherland becomes theTwelfth Earl of Winston

1893 Robert Sutherland is born inGloucestershire, England

1895 Margaret MacCreedy is born inMelbourne, Australia

1914-1918 The Great War

1917 Trant Sutherland is born inLondon

1918 Robert Sutherland marriesMargaret MacCreedy

1919 - Robert Sutherland becomes thethirteenth Earl of Winston on the death of his

father, William Sutherland

1919 Felicit Delacroix is born inCastiglion Fiorentino, Italy

1939-1945 - World War II

1946 Trant Sutherland marriesFelicit Delacroix

1947 Trevor Sutherland is born inEngland to Trant and Felicit Sutherland

1948 Rebecca Carey is born inDanville, Virginia

1965 Trant Sutherland becomes thefourteenth Earl of Winston on the death of his

father Robert Sutherland

1965-1973 The Vietnam War

1971 Brandt MacCauley is born inScotland

1977 Rebecca Carey marries GrantSutherland

1977 Patience Walker is born inNebraska

1986 Trevor Sutherland becomes thefifteenth Earl of Winston upon the passing of his

father, Trant Sutherland

1996 Brandt MacCauley graduates fromMIT and joins the faculty at Cal Tech

1997 Twenty year old Patience iskidnapped and taken to Las Vegas

September 11, 2001 The World TradeCenter is attacked by terrorists

Fig. 1 Map Showing Gloucestershire

Prologue

You may ask how I could have livedthrough the experiences recounted herein and not have perceived themomentous events that were unfolding. For my part, I can only saythat one must live life before one can comprehend life.

I was born in 1971 in Edinburgh, Scotland.Growing up in Edinburgh was profoundly monochromatic, especially inwinter. Anyone who has ever been there will know immediately what Imean by this. The central part of the city was constructed frombrownstone quarried from the adjacent volcanic hills in theeighteenth and nineteenth centuries and, with the advent ofautomobiles in the twentieth century, pollution has deposited alayer of still darker soot on every exterior surface possible. As aresult, Edinburgh has become in wintertime the artists dream foranyone who paints exclusively in tints of grey.

The winter I turned twelve my dad wasinjured. He worked at the rail yard in the city. I dont knowexactly what happened to him, but he was hurt pretty badly. Hisrecuperation required bed rest for several months and, although Ididnt know it at the time, he would eventually pass away fiveyears thereafter from complications caused by his injury.

That winter I was sent to stay with my AuntWinnie Sutherland in Stirling, thereby allowing my mother to copewith the extra burden of caring for my dad. Although I was nothappy about that, there was a small silver lining that was thefirst time that I experienced a winter away from Edinburgh.

To be sure, the winter climate in Stirlingwas cold and dark as much so as it was in Edinburgh, but unlikeEdinburgh, in Stirling the surrounding countryside crept right upto the city. It was so close that you could see right out into thehills from the walls of Stirling Castle. And on a clear day, youcould even see all the way to the river, where Scotland was born onSeptember 11, 1297. So this was my first adventure, and my memoriesof that winter remain sharp and clear after more than thirtyyears.

Aunt Winnie was old, or so it seemed to me.In retrospect, I suppose that she really wasnt. She was in factclose to the same age that I am now, but the significance of timeis quite beyond the comprehension of children.

As I recall, the weather one winter day wasso horrid that Auntie Winnie forbade me to even set foot outside.As I had not yet learned the virtue of patience, spending theentire day indoors with an elderly person was nearly unendurablefor a boy of twelve. Although I did my absolute best to pass thetime of day constructively, I failed miserably, succeeding only increating a nuisance for Aunt Winnie. For her part, she attemptedvaliantly to appear unfazed by my hyperactive antics.

At one point, plowing inanely throughfoodstuffs in her kitchen, I came upon a tiny ladybug. Determinedto evict it from our toasty abode, I was certain that Aunt Winniewould appreciate my efforts to protect the sanctity of our smallplace in the world.