Epic Story, The Legend of Tyoga Weathersby, Captures Early Life in America... Review of Book 1

It is hard to believe that The Legend of Tyoga Weatherby has taken an entire lifetime to write--but it's true. Well, not an entire lifetime, but I have spent a good portion of my nearly sixty years on earth as an observer, a quiet listener, a voracious learner, a student of early American history and a lover of the miracles of the natural world--those spectacularly displayed for all to observe and admire, and those as ethereal as the 'feel' of the deep woods at sunset.My cousin, Paul, and I grew up hiking the Appalachian Trail. Many of the scenes described in he book are places I have been, traveled through, and experienced first hand. We spent many nights camping under the stars, and several unforgettable evenings on the top of Old Mount Rag. The trail to the summit, and even the configuration of the rocks at the peak, described in the book are depicted exactly as they appear to this day.

The top of Old Mount Rag is unchanged from how it would have appeared to Tyoga in the 1700s. He would have undoubtedly taken a seat on the "top-rock" and gazed off into the horizon just as I have done. I am certain that his heart would have soared atg the majesty of the Appalachian Mountains, and that he would have wondered about the world beyond--just as I have done...

The Legend of Tyoga Weathersby

By  H. L. Grandin

Having lived in the same part of the country as does Grandin all our lives, I found much in his book that called to me, especially since I've moved to my 13-acre log cabin home where I'm surrounded by trees and hills where only nature in its glory is what I see from every window or door... I always read from the first page of a book, but it's not often that I use the preface as part of my review... But I must say that Grandin story begins right there with his own story. I can see why it took years to put his story on paper...he was too busy exploring, sensing the words of wisdom that he was to write about...

Tyoga inherited what is called the Awakening. There may be such a thing, but I feel confident in thinking that H. L. Grandin also awakened to the natural world around him so many years ago. This is why, I think, when you start reading, that his words seem to have almost a poetic flavor--a taste of the glory he, too, experienced while climbing over the rocks, looking up toward the hills and trees...or just listening to the stillness that is only broken by the chatter of a night animal or the howl of a lone wolf... Without the wolf beside him, there would not have been a legend that arose out of Tyoga's life... This is a mystical tale, a magical tale that only may come to those who become attuned to the natural world in all of its magnificence.  May this story allow you to capture that world...and as shown above, you, too, may decide to take that rough trail up to Mount Rag that, as the author says, is just like it was in the 1700s when the real story of this life began...

Riveted by the morning mist that cloaks the Appalachians in the mysteries of time, distance, and space, Tyoga Weathersby stood by his papa's side in the pre-dawn silence atop Carter's Rock. Even at six years of age, his love of all things wild and free drew him to the openness of the mountains, plains and valleys of the Blue Ridge with a siren's call that simply wouldn't be denied...

"Tyoga. When you open your eyes, it will be as if you are experiencing the world for the very first time. Don't be afraid. From this moment on, you'll be one with the trees and the air and the sun. The eagle will guide you. The raven will settle The whisper of the wind will prepare you. You will never know fear again...

The Weathersby family had been accepted by the nearby Native Americans, led by the great Chief of the Amonsoquath Tribe of the Cherokee. Tyoga became brother to Tes Qua Ta Wa. They went everywhere together and sometimes was joined by Sunlei, his sister. It was in the late 1600s and both boys were about 12 when it happened. Tyoga and Tes Qua were "seasoned mountain travelers" by then, out enjoying their favorite places to climb or fish. They had learned each other's language, just by trading off from one to the other routinely.  Tyoga had learned the dialect of the Amonsoquath just by being with them. Of course, he learned Tsalagi through imitation and mimicry...
Suddenly Tes Qua cried out; he had been caught in a bear trap; Tyoga had been ahead when he heard his screams. Not understanding what he was saying, Tyoga just turned to get back to him. Tyoga tried to open the trap to free him, but also realized that might not be a good idea. They decided that Tyoga should go get help... 

 

But then Tyoga heard one wolf, two and more...he knew he had to get back to his friend, else he would not make it. Tyoga had heard the change before... once the pack was formed, they would turn into killing machines... and they were there, surrounding Tes Qua... He had attempted to keep his fire burning but there were only embers now. Tyoga forgot everything else, he leaped from the surrounding bushes to stand between the wolves and Tes Qua. 

He knew immediately which was the Commander. His jump had unsettled them but they were still ready to move toward the kill...

It had started there and was finished there... You must read of this event yourself; otherwise, you will not believe..

Tyoga continued staring into the wolf' eyes, and watched as his own reflection silently dissolved away. With a curious sigh, and a blink of his eyes, the wolf released the young man from the embrace of their stare.

It was done.

Tyoga rose to his feet and backed away from the beast. The wolf lifted his head from the ground.

He heard Tes Qua screaming, "What's the matter with you, ty. Kill him. Ki8ll him or he's gonna kill us both."

"No, Tex 'A. It's over."

He looked down at the wolf lying at his feet.

"He could have called for help. He could have ordered us killed at any moment. But he didn't. And now the choice is mine." Bowing his head to approve the words, he added, "I choose mercy. Life is my gift."

Stopping his retreat, he said. "Ta oh hey, Wahaya." (Rest, Wolf.) 

"Ta oh hey peaose," (Rest in peace.)

~~~

And thus the legend was born. But that was only the beginning of the adventures in which Tyoga was thrown. And, somehow, Tyoga was always able to find his way out... Until...

With 400 pages, readers will move from adventure to adventure, one of which included Tyoga and Tes Qua being attacked by another tribe. During that fight and another, there were six braves killed. Finally, the Chief was called for an accounting, for repayment of the loss of that many braves, even though they had been killed by wolves... But it was a setup clear and unbreakable. The demand to repay the braves was for another brave to be given Sunlei so that she would bear children and replace the lost ones...

It appeared to me that Tyoga had not yet formally spoken for Sunlei because of the religious differences. He was embarrassed that he'd already had sex with her, as was common in the tribe. But for the white parents, it would have been sinful since they were not married. Now, it was too late. In order to ensure that there was not a war, Sunlei would have to become a bride to a cruel, evil man that wanted nothing more than to beat Tyoga one way or the other...

But there were too many making plans to free Sunlei, one of which was to kill the man she would marry... Finally, they did get her away, with the plan to send her to a relatives location. Tyoga even sent Wahaya with her which surprised everybody!

The three friends who had been together for most of their lives were now torn apart...Tes Qua was able to stay with his family, but Tyoga had vowed to leave on the same day that Sunlei was forced to go...

But the Legend of Tyoga had gone everywhere and even when he found himself starving, near death, he was found and nursed back to health and began one of the most fortunate parts of his life...

"Was it you that I saw standing in the woods watching me?" he asked.
"Yes. I watched you cross the Mattaponi and walk up to the tree. I could tell that you were hurt, and tired, and hungry; I was afraid to approach you because..." She stopped speaking and looked down at the group.
Tyoga finished her sentence, "Because I was running around naked and talking to myself."
"Yes," They both laughed out loud.

Trinity Jane and Tyoga worked together to build a home and later a town, which grew to be a major center in the area. Tyoga was many times called upon to help mediate and negotiate and became prosperous, although he and Trinity never married...

Virginia's First People were of the Mattaponi tribe

For me, this story responded to many things I love--the treasure of natural beauty, the concern for ensuring peace, without fighting or wars, the taming of the wild by showing concern and love... and that spiritual connection... I loved it for so many reasons, including being able to choose Grizzly Adams to fill in for Tyoga! Remember his program?! Loved it too! That, too, was a legend to be retold over and over..

When Tyoga once again meets Wahaya and Tes Qua, it is to find Sunlei... Second Book coming next...

GABixlerReviews

Spirit Cat

HL Grandin grew up in the shadow of history near Mt. Vernon, Virginia. As a boy he spent many hours exploring the hills, valleys and waterways throughout Virginia, which nurtured a deep appreciation for nature and its forces. Those adventures became the inspiration for The Legend of Tyoga Weathersby. For the past twenty-five years, HL has lived on a small farm in western Maryland where he and his wife raised three daughters and a passel of critters...

Blue Farm by Charles C. Anderson Heartbreaking, Horrible in Several Ways! Kidnapped!

Although the twins, Jack and Ava Carlson had perfect SAT scores at age fourteen, their mom Lindsey refused to allow them to go off to college. Her minimum age for college was sixteen years old. Being a child prodigy and a warrior at the same time was tricky enough. Lindsey and Andy Carlson agreed that Jack and Ava needed to put puberty behind them, develop some much-needed social skills, and grow up physically in order to blend with other college students...
The twins announced their intention to visit the University of Virginia in Charlottesville on the upcoming weekend. They planned to take their five-year-old brother Peewee with  them.
After the three kids had left the farmhouse, Andy tried to restrain his joy at the prospect of Jack and Ava attending a prestigious Southern university a scant fifty-five miles from the Farm they grew up on...

~~~

Blue Farm

By Charles C. Anderson

"Aren't you being a little selfish, Andy, wanting your kids to be close to home?"

"I'm sure that's a factor," he said, "but I'm thinking of our son Peewee the most. He has special needs. Peewee must grow up with his oler brother and sister close by. You know as well as I do that the twins taught each other more than we taught them. Their competitiveness has given them that edge you say in unfair. A five-year-old brainiac needs other brainiacs to interact with. You and I aren't brainiacs...

The Rotunda at the University of Virginia. Charlottesville, Virginia, United States (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While Andy and Lindsey argued at home over when, where and which university their twins would attend, Ava and Jack were 

approaching the campus of the University of Virginia. Although they had looked at other schools, they had already decided, and knew that they would be going to this school so they would be near PeeWee their brother. Now they wanted to have Peewee look around, starting with the Rotunda.

Jack had immediately offered Peewee a ride on his shoulders since his brother could not easily handle steps and there were many up and into the building.

Ava had moved on ahead since they planned to start at the top and move down. Peewee and Jack had started to talk about the architecture on the campus.

They were the only visitors in the dome room.

"This is the largest round room I've ever been in," Peewee said, back on his own feet. He shoved his spiral notepad back in his right slash pocket. "I like those pairs of columns on the perimeter," he said. He looked up. "And that round skylight makes it bright in here." He walked toward the columns.

Jack walked toward a painting above one fireplace and Ava walked toward the painting over the opposite fireplace.

Peewee called, "There're bookcases behind these columns."

After examining one of the two paintings, Jack decided that the men depicted were Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. All three Virginians had served as President of the United States. At one time James Madison had been a neighbor to James Carlson. A bridge across the Appomattox River at Sandy Ford connected Madison's property with Carlson's. All three presidents had visited the Carlson plantation.

"Peewee," Jack called, "come look at this." He stared at Thomas Jefferson's profile as he waited for Peewee to make his way to the fireplace.

Ava called from the opposite side of the dome room, "Peewee,"

Peewee didn't answer.

Ava and Jack met each other in the center of the round room. "He went behind a couple of columns over there," Jack said, pointing. They walked toward the perimeter of the dome room...The huge room was silent.

Ava appeared from behind two columns, "I don't like this, Jack," she said. "Peewee doesn't play hide and seek."...

Jack had almost come full circle when he heard Ava scream...

At the base of the column were the remains of Peewee Carlson's industrial-strength glasses. The thick left lens was cracked. The left temple that fit tightly over Peewee's ear had been crushed. The bridge was bent. Jack smelled the glasses...There were five tiny drops of blood on the cracked left lens, in a splatter pattern. The broken left temple had bright red blood on it. A blood trail pointed toward the stairs...

They lay on their sides, their foreheads touching, communicating without speaking for a few moments. They they cried like the day they were born. Peewee had been kidnapped.

~~~

The entire Carlson family were devastated when their five-year-old special needs child was taken, kidnapped during that trip. Jack and Ava, however, blamed themselves and were distraught, but they quickly made notifications and started to search the campus and interview the few students that were around. Andy and Lindsey, of course, were quickly on the way and got both the CIA and FBI involved. Hamilton was the CIA representative to come, quickly pointing out they didn't have any responsibility for this type of issue.

Andy quickly pointed out that they had just been actively involved with a major CIA action, when the President had personally called for their assistance. The end result had been the loss of a number of individuals from the same family--this could be revenge for those deaths! Hamilton accepted this was a point and agreed to a combined task force. but he wanted Andy's agreement that he would become an active CIA agent and accept special jobs, one for which he was already needed, but could wait until after they had found their son. Both Lindsey and Andy quickly agreed, but then was perplexed about what they might have committed to...

Soon, however, a demand for $5M was made. And they further demanded that Ava be the person who brought the money... It was felt that the exchange site was going to be a problem, until they learned more...

Life went on but the Carlsons were changed by the kidnapping... Still the twins had already signed up for the next semester and finally decided to go... Especially when they learned that the two remaining members of the Ivanov family were also scheduled to attend there...

But none of what happened could have ever been planned... The only thing possible was trying to protect Jack and Ava, who might be the next to be targeted... The ending of this one should be a major surprise on several counts...

Charles Anderson has created a series that attracts readers not only for the action-packed thrills, but also for the issues addressed as the family is raised as well as what the United States faces. Using true-to-life situations, the author openly shares about our government, world issues, and how to be prepared to live with the threat of terror...from anywhere and at anytime. Readers may not agree with his conclusions, but I think there is ample evidence that he's working continuously to pinpoint concerns about which we, as citizens, should be aware, prepared for, and alert to possible action. It is not unpatriotic to express opinions and highlight issues that must be addressed. If you are a concerned citizen, you just may become a warrior as well!

Although it is hard to read about a small child being callously hurt, the book brings us forward, better prepared and watchful... Highly recommended...

GABixlerReviews