Product Description
by Philip D. Wetjen (Author)
From Oregon to Texas, this chronicle portrays the life of migrant farm workers travelling between harvests. A story of resilience and fortitude as Daniel Cline and his new friend Sora traverse the continent by freight train. The narrative follows the evolution of the relationship between Daniel, a typical American city dweller, and Sora, a migrant farm worker from northern Mexico. Sora (along with his travelling companions) is an experienced freight train rider - Daniel clearly is not. The hurdles Daniel must overcome are based on this lack of experience. However, along the way, it becomes clear that Daniel can also add value to the partnership, as the travelers occasionally stray outside the realm of trains and tracks into the local environment of the town they are passing through. The intersection of the two worlds causes Daniel to second guess his path on several occasions.
Daniel's reason for hopping a freight is simply to get out of town, to escape the memories of his wife's death, along with the overwhelming medical bills that accumulated in the course of her illness. It's only through random chance (and good luck) that he encounters Sora. Once he finds acceptance in the migrant group, for lack of any plan of his own, Daniel also adopts their objective of getting home to Mexico. But as the trip progresses, he realizes he can only share their goal for so long - at some point he will have to find his own purpose. And chart his own destiny. During the course of the journey the author introduces imagery from the haiku of Matsuo Basho and his epic story portrayed in his 'Narrow Road to a Far Province'. Steeped in the tradition of modern literature, this narrative portrays an honest and open view of the essential humanity of the people who cross, or attempt to cross, our southern border. For additional publications by this author please visit www.philwetjen.com
