The Ditch Digger - The Life of J. Fletcher Creamer, III

About the Book

Book Description Those of us who once ventured up to Palisades Amusement Park on a hot summer’s evening and passed through its brightly painted portal knew right away we were entering a different world. The uncertain feeling in the pit of our stomachs coupled with a flutter in our chests meant that life as we once knew it was about to change, at least for a while anyway. As we hurried along the bustling midway, heads turning, eyes flashing, nothing seemed quite real, as if everything was being viewed through a prism. The cacophony of sounds, the blinking lights and the suffocating smells were both offensive and seductive. The Cyclone roller coaster was scary but who cared. We stood in line to ride it again and again, yet another chance to throw up our hands and scream at the top of our lungs. And unlike Moses standing on the mount with a view of the Promised Land he would not enter, for a mere pittance, everyone was welcomed into Palisades Amusement Park–man, woman, even child if accompanied by an adult. Now, like those thrilling days of yesteryear, we are again about to enter another different world. It is the world of a most remarkable man who has lived a most remarkable life. J. Fletcher Creamer, III, has graciously left an indelible mark on everything he has accomplished and on everyone he has met. And while Palisades Amusement Park is now just a fond memory, Fletch goes on doing what he does best–being Fletch–unpretentious yet larger-than-life. As Shakespeare might have put it, age cannot wither Fletch Creamer. Yet just like the wind, mortal life is a moan, a sigh, a sob, a storm, a strife. And like Palisades Park’s mighty Cyclone, Fletch’s life has endured its share of ups and downs, its own particular twists and turns. That is perhaps what makes his story so compelling, one that must be shared. So, as the park attendant once hollered just before pulling the lever that unleashed the Cyclone’s immense power, “Hold on tight, folks. You’re in for the ride of your life.”

About the Author

Leonard Johnsen’s first novel, Comes The Blind Fury, resulted from a desire to write something more than what was found in The Spring Lake Gazette, a weekly newsletter he published in the late nineties. While he enjoyed writing these satirical articles, he felt there was much more that could be shared with a wider audience. He has written four other books–A Capital Crime, Sunrise Diner, Fort Moody Blues and The Phoenix, which is due out in early 2005. Len and his wife, Pat, reside at the Jersey shore.