Like Two Peas

About the Book

If you have experience the loss of a child then you know of the pain. If you are looking for solace I hope this sharing will help. If you are looking for spiritual insight, you should read a different book. This is not it. When I first began writing this little book, it was to be a condemnation of the trucking industry, complete with a lot of facts and figures and graphs. Every year, some 5000 Americans are killed on our highways by tractor trailers, but this is not the focus of my writing. The trucking industry is a large, nasty and powerful force in our nation. It has power for the stuff of science fiction novels. But many businesses in America have such power. The American economy is a great thing, but all things must have a vulnerability to answer to the public. Franklin Roosevelt warned that “the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic State itself. That, in its essence is Fascism, ownership of government by an individual by a group, or any controlling private power.” I ask that you understand that the chronology may seem to jump around a bit, but it is how I feel. This book is many things. It is a commentary on social difficulties from the perspective of an African-American male. It is a healing. It is also a vehicle in which our daughter will continue to live. It is recorded family history. It is my hope that this small writing and sharing will bring enlightenment to some and help in some way to those unfortunate enough to have forced upon them the burden of losing a child.

About the Author

Miles “Rick” Curl was born March 1, 1950 in Kansas City. He attended public schools through elementary school and attended catholic DeLaSalle High School. He received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. After college, Rick eventually joined Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC now AT&T) after spending about 5 years with the Sears and Firestone companies. He earned a Master of Arts degree in Marketing from Webster University in St. Louis in 1983 and retired from SBC in 2003 after 27 years. He was an instructor at the University of Phoenix for two years and was a guest columnist for the Kansas City Star newspaper in 2005. Surviving daughter Jessica graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2005. He loves to read, particularly subjects of legal and socio-political content. After a long hiatus he has returned to playing guitar. He loves blues and jazz music and shares his appreciation for the beauty of the horse with all members of his extended family.