Just thought I would try something different. I will be posting an excerpt from one of my novels every day. I will be leading off with the first chapter of my first novel Black Friday.
Friday November 23
12:00 a.m.
“How low is it supposed to go tonight?” Irene Daley
asked her sister Irma.
“I heard that it was going down to twenty five.” Irma
Daley replied as the two twenty six year old twin sisters were waiting in the
one hundred person long line for Target to open just three hours from now.
“I wonder if Dad’s finally home.” Irene mused in
reference to Ian Daley returning from his job at Homeland Friday November 23
Security.
“It had to be very serious for Dad to leave in the
middle of Thanksgiving dinner.” Irma noted.
“I couldn’t agree with you more.” Irene remarked as
the twins were now freezing in the cold crisp night air. They were outside Target in The Suburban
Mall. The popular strip mall was located
in a suburb of Bethesda. Meanwhile the
two slender 5’6” twins were sipping on their thermoses of French Vanilla
coffee. They were bundled up wearing
light blue and tan winter coats respectively.
Their scarves and knit hats matched up.
The two now saw more people get into the line. “I think we will be at two hundred people in
line before we know it.” The clear crisp
night sky was illuminated by the countless stars which dominated the sky. The Target store was the centerpiece of The
Suburban Mall which stretched in an L-shape that would take up a total of three
NFL football fields. The parking lot
would fit at least two thousand cars while it had enough room for a bus stop
that would hold five commuter busses at any one time. Across the street of The Suburban Mall was
known at “Tech Row.” Tech Row was a
series of technological businesses that were next to one another on Maryland
Avenue. Several yards away behind The Suburban
Mall as well as Tech Row were forests.
The trees had been standing since the Meso-Colonial Period. Birds, deer, fox, raccoon, possum and insects
resided in the forests to this day. The
Bethesda area chapter of the National Wildlife Federation had been staging a
series of protests periodically every time the developers of both The Suburban
Mall and Tech Row desired to expand their respective businesses by proposing to
mow down the forests that were behind them.
Each time this was proposed it outraged the local as well as the
regional conservation activists to the extent that the plan was ultimately
abandoned after months of haggling. This
made the residents of Hopkins, Maryland become emotionally numb whenever the
proposals were made given the fact that they would never be passed into law.
“I take it you two are bored.” a middle aged woman
began “I’ve been through this ritual every year since 1987.” Her tan overcoat and knit hat covered her
lithe 5’0” frame. The platinum blonde
with blue eyes continued “Believe me, you two will be a veteran at this like me
someday.” With that the Daley twins and
the middle aged women began to have a lively conversation with one another.
“Unusual chatter coming from Afghanistan.” Ian Daley
began as he then added “Brings back memories of 9/11.” The 5’9” sixty one year old veteran of the
counterterrorism community with gray hair and green eyes as well as a medium
build noted as he kept looking over the latest report. He was casually dressed in a blue button down
denim shirt and tan khaki slacks with blue, brown and tan argyle socks and
brown loafers.
“Come on Daley, we’ve seen this since 9/11.” Art
Graves replied. The 6’2” fifty year old
grizzled data analyst began to roll his eyes as he then added “Remember that
supposed threat two years ago. We
thought for sure that something was going to happen, but we all know that
nothing occurred. How about five years
ago when…” Graves wore a tan sweater and brown dress pants along with tan shoes
and dark brown socks.
“You’ve made your point!” Daley stated exasperatedly
as he put his hands towards Graves.
“What if we ignored the signs and we actually have another 9/11?”
“Do you really think that there will be another
9/11?” Art inquired with a quizzical look on his face.
“Look anything is possible. We must never rule out any scenario.” Ian
said.
“Whatever you say, but federal resources are being
depleted by the day.” Graves began as Daley cut him off “It is that same
mindset that resulted in 9/11. Look we
must never be complacent. Do I have to
remind you what happened the last time we were complacent?” as an African
American male walked over to the men and said “Briefing in Harrison’s office
ASAP!”
“Yes sir.” they replied as they walked briskly to
Harvey Harrison’s office.
“Could you tell us what this is about?” Graves asked
Reginald Patterson.”
“Let’s just say that it’s urgent.” Patterson noted. The 6’5” 220 pound former forward for the
Washington Bullets was immaculately dressed in a gray suit, black shirt and a
charcoal gray tie. His black socks and
matching shoes as well as a receding pate which never went gray gave him an
aura of self-confidence. His mustache
matched his hair and his black glasses give him a dignified look. His voice had
the inflection of an individual with an Ivy League pedigree. The complex which housed this particular
branch of the Homeland Security department was in the middle of the complex of
businesses in Washington, DC. However
the complex was aptly named Ridgemont in honor of the first director of
Homeland Security former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge who served less than
one term during the first four years of the George W. Bush administration. Ridgemont was surrounded by a seven foot
metal fence which made the peaks of the three story building visible. Outside the complex stood armed guards at the
gate. They checked for ID each time
someone would enter Ridgemont. Once they
saw the identification card, the guards placed a call to a desk secretary who verifies
if the person was supposed to be working on a particular shift or was summoned
to work on an emergency basis. Once
their identification was confirmed, they would proceed inside where their cars
went through a rigorous security search.
This is the reason that the employees of Ridgemont hardly kept anything
inside their cars and kept it empty for the most part. Their identifications were then quickly
vetted while they went through a series of metal detectors as well as body
scans. After that they would be allowed
to enter the main sections of the complex.
The main sections of the complex actually looked like corporate offices
with modern desks, furniture as well as art deco. The only exceptions were in the private rooms
there were state of the art computers with the latest technology to track down
terrorists as well as the latest terror threats that Ridgemont would receive
every fifteen minutes.
It was
now late morning inside the al-Qaeda camp in a mountainous area in
Afghanistan. Five men were inside Ayman
al-Zawahiri’s tent. The al-Qaeda leader
was holding court with his top lieutenants.
They were going over planning for future operations. Now Omar Ali Mustafa inquired “How is
Operation Yarmuk going?” in reference to the first battle against the Byzantine
Empire which was led by Khalid Ibn al Walid.
This very scenario mentioned in the book Future Jihad by Walid Phares.
“We have our agents in place and ready to strike at
the given signal.” al-Zawahiri replied.
“What is the signal?” Khalid Isawi asked. The higher up in the al-Qaeda hierarchy was
5’11” and 185 pounds. He wore a white
turban and long multi-color flowing robes.
His gray mustache and beard cover most of the olive skin on his face.
“Watch CNN today.
You will find out soon enough.” al-Zawahiri remarked. He then changed the subject “Do you have
anything new to report about the trade?” he inquired in reference to the heroin
fields that have been recently proliferating throughout Afghanistan that were
primarily run by the Taliban, but were partnered up with al-Qaeda as well.
“There are four shipments that are on the way to
America, Venezuela, Columbia as well as Mexico.
We have operatives in each place of destination.” Isawi replied.
“When do you think that the shipments will be
arriving?” Ayman al-Zawahiri asked.
“Any day now.” Isawi noted. Khalid Isawi for years had worked as a
peasant farmer who was unable to make ends meet in a small village that was
outside Jalalabad, Afghanistan. His life
was basically a dead end road in which that he would realize that being
essentially a migrant farmer who was basically serving a life sentence of
poverty despite the fact that his family owned the farm and that as the middle
child he would never be able to own the farm.
Isawi was resigned not by choice to live a life in which he had no
future until he first heard of al-Qaeda through a fiery sermon being given from
one of the Imams at a mosque in the next town over rail about how the infidels
were occupying Saudi Arabia. This would
begin a series of a chain reaction of events that would forever change the life
of Abdul Isawi. Isawi became not only a
radical Moslem but also befriended the Imam who convinced Isawi to join
al-Qaeda. Isawi left his family behind
and made his way to the camp which was outside Kabul, Afghanistan. For the next few months, Isawi was not only trained
with weapons, but with explosives as well until he first learned of the drug
trade. He knew that there was a lot of
money to be made by harvesting drug crops such as heroin and opium. Meanwhile his parents and two older brothers
died due to a flu that raged its way throughout the Jalalabad area during the
winter of 1997-1998. It was then that
Abdul Isawi inherited the farm that he had toiled at without making enough
money to live on. He immediately began
to plant heroin as well as opium and practically overnight he went from living
a life of poverty to one of opulence.
Isawi overnight became the wealthiest person in the Jalalabad region and
he never forgot how and when his fortunes began to change. He was known for making numerous donations to
the mosque where he first converted to radical Islam, al-Qaeda as well as the
Taliban. Isawi also had numerous
customers who were drug lords in Latin American countries such as Mexico,
Columbia and Venezuela. It was the drugs
that were sold to those aforementioned drug lords that seeped its way into the
United States and made millions of Americans into drug addicts. Their craving for those drugs resulted in
more sales of the heroin crops from Afghanistan. It was the proceeds from the sale of drugs
such as heroin and opium that were used to finance terrorist attacks against
the United States as well as other western nations and Israel. The drug business not only made Isawi very wealthy
but the Taliban and al-Qaeda as well. As
a result, al-Qaeda now had another income stream that would finance terrorist
attacks globally. The plot that they are
about to bring to fruition was financed by the drug trade.
“What is the status of your readiness to strike if
needed?” Chang Huang Dong the commander of the Chinese military asked his
commander of the 10th Chinese Fleet which was stationed off the
southeastern Chinese coast. The 5’5” 140
pound sixty year old who was born in Beijing was a product of Mao’s Cultural
Revolution. His gray hair and piercing
black eyes gave him an intimidating look about him. He was in much better physical condition than
most of his military counterparts.
“My men are as ready as they will ever be.” Sung Jin
Liang replied “How soon would you like me to enact Operation Reunification?” The fellow Beijing native stood 5’6” and weighed
150 pounds. Although he was fifty five,
he and Chang went back to their twenties when they served in the same
battalion. Chang took Sung under his
wing and the two would go on to advance in the chain of command in the Chinese
military to such high levels.
“We have a spy who is well placed in the upper
levels of the United States government.” Chang began “We have reason to believe
that such an operation may commence within the next twenty four hours.”
“Very well then.” Sung responded “When would you
like me to inform my men to become battle ready?”
“They must be informed as soon as this meeting comes
to an end.” Chang ordered “Remember the pride of the Motherland hinges on how
well we carry out this excursion.
Dismissed.”
Meanwhile
at another meeting inside a nuclear facility in a secluded area in the central
part in North Korea, the head of the North Korean Atomic Commission was meeting
with the North Korean Defense Minister.
Also present was the commander of the North Korean Military.
“Are the missiles ready for use?” Defense Minister
Hung Su Kim asked the head of the North Korean Atomic Commission Jang Nuan Do.
“Yes.” Jang began “An underground test of the
Taepodong VII was successfully executed early this morning.”
“We will need you to carry out a nuclear launch
within the next twenty four hours.” Hung ordered Jang who now looked not only
shocked but had the look of someone who was about to realize his lifelong dream
of striking South Korea and annexing it in the process. Meanwhile Hung noticed the look on Commander
Kim Song Park who was about to ask a question.
He then said to Kim “I know that you are about to ask about the American
military presence at the 38th Parallel. We will use one of the bombs on them as
well. Besides their government will not
be able to respond to us anyways.”
“How so?” Kim inquired.
“We have an agent inside the upper levels of the
United States government. He has been
working with us as well as the Chinese government in order to make sure that
both our objectives are carried out successfully.” Hung noted “First have the
soldiers and the weapons ready and second we must wait for the events in the
United States to take place. Trust me
you will know when to carry out the operation.”
“The recount has now entered its seventeenth day
with no end in sight.” the CNN reporter began “The Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida,
Arizona and West Virginia State Supreme Courts will be hearing arguments
regarding the disputed votes. As it
stands, President Jeff Wolcott will be updating the nation this afternoon on
the latest in the crisis. Meanwhile his
challenger Virginia Governor Dick Freeman has indicated that he will not back
down on any challenges that he has made regarding the disputed votes.” as the
screen now showed the fifty one year old Freeman state for the record “I am no
Al Gore. I will not back down until
every last vote is counted. My father
died in Vietnam so every vote can be counted.
This is America; we must never surrender our democratic standards.”
“What do you think?” Hussein Ibrahim asked Saleh
Bowadi.
“They are making it too easy for us.” Bowadi replied
“These infidels are so incompetent. They
have not changed no matter what they claim.”
The skinny 5’5” Bowadi weighed not even 150 pounds and was clean
shaven. He shaved his mustache and beard
before he and Ibrahim departed for the United States years earlier.
“Soon they will have something else to talk
about. Maybe then they will realize that
their idea of democracy is not such a good thing after all.” Ibrahim
noted. The 6’1” 180 pound man with jet back hair and
tan skin was casually dressed just like Saleh in order to blend in with
American society. The two men in fact
did everything they could so they would not stand out like a sore thumb.
“They will be in for one rude awakening before the
day is over with.” Saleh said confidentially.
“That is an understatement my brother.” Hussein
observed. The two men were born in Saudi Arabia. They had been interested in joining al-Qaeda
since they were ten year olds. After the
September 11th attacks took place, their parents had filled their
minds with anti-American beliefs for as long as they could remember. They had long been incensed by the American
troops who long overstayed their welcome after Operation Desert Storm. All Hussein and Saleh could remember was the
presence of the United States military. They
had learned not only from their parents but from their textbooks that the
United States was obsessed with world domination as well as oil in the Middle
East. The two also learned that it was
the United States desire to control all of the oil in the Middle East. This was reinforced by the 2003 invasion of
Iraq by the United States as well as the continued presence of the American
military long after Saddam Hussein was toppled.
The two were taught that the Israeli Mossad and the CIA carried out the
9/11 attacks and not only framed al-Qaeda for the attacks, but used as an
excuse to invade both Afghanistan as well as Iraq using it as a guise in order
to control the oil in the Middle East.
Hussein, Saleh, their families as well as Saudi Arabia feared that the
War on Terror was also a war to eradicate Islam. This was also a feeling that was felt
especially among the Wahhabi’s. The
Wahhabi’s are followers of Wahhabism which is a puritanical sect of Islam. One that desires to teach Islam in the manner
that it was revealed to the Prophet Mohammad in the early 600’s AD. The Wahhabi revival became very evident
during the siege of the Grand Mosque in Mecca back in November, 1979. The Wahhabi’s claimed that the Mahdi who is
the Islamic Messiah had come to usher in the last age of the world. The siege lasted for a couple of weeks until
French troops who were enlisted by the government of Saudi Arabia and converted
to Islam in order to even enter Mecca would storm the Grand Mosque and end the
takeover. The takeover of the Grand
Mosque had shaken Saudi Arabia to the core.
The nation was divided and the Saudi Government infused Wahhabi Islam in
every area of Saudi Arabian life in order to bridge the gap between the
divisions which threatened to tear the nation apart.
Hussein
Ibrahim and Salah Bowadi both grew up together and immigrated to Afghanistan
and were trained by al-Qaeda. For years
they learned the art of bomb making, surveillance, as well as being trained
with machine guns and rocket launchers. The men had desired to someday carry out a
9/11 style attack but on a much larger scale.
For the past few years since they were recruited for the Black Friday
strike, they relocated to the United States and blended in with the rest of
American Society while becoming law abiding citizens. There was never as much as a peep or a
traffic ticket from the two. They made
friends along the way while earning their trust among their circle of American
friends. It was this mindset that made
them among the least threatening among the American public. Their apartment was on the outskirts of
Bethesda and had the look and décor of an apartment that would blend in with
the other apartments in the area. The
more recent furniture coupled with displays of seashores and the occasional
Monet replicas were on the walls of their apartment. Also on the walls would be the occasional art
house movie poster of a foreign movie which was mainly European or Latin
American in nature. Other than that the
apartment had the look of one where they could be able to move out with
relative ease should they have to relocate elsewhere.
“I’m concerned that Cypress will be linked to this
recount.” Dick Tilden began as he was also watching CNN. He was aware that the voting machines that
Cypress manufactured for the states whose votes were being disputed.
“Cypress is already linked to this recount.” Dan
Merkel replied as he then continued “I hope that another company also
manufactured the voting machines that have been linked to this fiasco.”
“I wish I could say that was the case.” Tilden
noted.
“You mean there isn’t another company who
manufactured the voting machines that have been linked to the disputed ballots
in five states.” Merkel wondered aloud.
“That would be correct.” Tilden started as he then
continued “Twenty states chose us to supply them with voting machines because
of our integrity and now that is going to go by the wayside. No one will want to do business with us!” the
founder and Chief Financial Officer of Cypress exploded “This is beyond
intolerable! How is the internal
investigation going?” he now demanded.
“We are looking into Gary Barton’s role in this
mess. We sent out someone to trail him
in the months leading up to the recount.” Dan Merkel replied.
“What did you find out?” Tilden inquired.
“I am going to learn more this afternoon.” Merkel
began “As soon I find out about Barton, you will be the first to know.”
“Please do not even think to call me between eleven
and four this afternoon.” Tilden ordered “I will be testifying before that
bi-partisan congressional committee that is investigating the disputed
ballots.”
“In that case, please call me once you are done with
testifying before the committee.” Merkel said as the conversation came to an
end. Cypress, Incorporated was formed at
the height of the dotcom boom during the late 1990’s. Cypress was the shortened name for Cyber
Express which provided internet service to those who resided in the southern
United States. They gradually expanded
to the southwestern United States as well as the Midwest and the Mid-Atlantic states. Cypress would fail in its repeated attempts
to successfully tap into the Northeast especially New England, the Plains
states as well as the Pacific Northwest and the West Coast. Despite these shortcomings, Cypress became a
profitable niche company with its subscribers becoming not only the most loyal
customers, but its most passionate ones at the same time. They began to branch out into the voting
machines after the controversial 2000 presidential recount. Gradually Cypress began to market as well as
sell voting machines while taking advantage of the recount as well as the need
for new voting machines.
“I would like to sell 1,000,000 shares of Cypress
and instead purchase 5,000,000 shares of Pan Arabian Oil.” Ishmael Younis began
as he placed the call from his office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to his broker in
Zurich, Switzerland.
“I will take care of it right now.” Hans Guibioso
replied as he processed the transaction “I just found out that Cypress may have
been involved in the voter tampering.”
“Same here.” Ishmael said as he continued “I think
that Pan Arabian Oil would be the safer bet.
It is undervalued as it is compared to the other oil stocks that are out
there.”
“Transaction done.” Hans stated as he then asked “Is
there anything else I can help you with Sheikh Younis?”
“Not at this time.” Ishmael added as he then ended
the call. The fifty eight year Saudi
investment broker first took advantage of the securities game while attending
King Khalid University in the mid-1980’s.
He quickly showed that he had a knack for making one successful
investment after another as he first invested in Saudi-owned businesses. Soon after he branched out into
Japanese-owned businesses. He then
invested heavily in the dotcom boom during the late 1990’s. Each time he had a knack for pulling out of
his investments at the right time.
Despite concentrating most of his investments in the Pacific Rim
businesses as well as Indian and Chinese-owned corporations. Ishmael also became a prominent investor not
only in Cypress, but also in the off shore companies that both were fronts for
the heroin and Opium fields for Afghanistan and the drug cartels in Mexico,
Columbia and Venezuela. Among his close
friends in the Afghanistan drug trade included Khalid Isawi. Ishmael now turned on Al-Jazeera and watched
it for a little while and then he switched to CNN and proceeded to watch it for
most of the afternoon knowing that he had begun to set off another round of
events. The first wave had already been
completed. It was the second wave that
would lead to the third wave and ultimately the fourth wave. The first wave took a while to complete and
the final three would be completed within the next twenty four hours.
“Where do we stand?” Tim Lake asked Allan Bridges
regarding the security at The Galleria.
The two men were in Bridges’ office inside the security area of the
Galleria Mall. Bridges only had papers
on his grey metal desk which consisted of three drawers on the right side and a
fourth in the middle of the desk. The
office only had displays which promoted the mall as well as security
requirements as prescribed by law.
Bridges’ office was deliberately devoid of pictures as well as any other
effects that would identify him to those who ran amok of mall policy or
allegedly ran amok of mall policy. This
would not only protect Bridges from retaliation by any disgruntled individual
or individuals who visited the office, but Bridges’ family as well as his
friends would be protected from any reprisals which may be carried out against
Bridges and the other security personnel.
“We have our men prepared and every security
apparatus in place.” Bridges the heard of the Galleria security force
responded. He had blond hair and blue
eyes. He stood 6’0’ and weighed 200
pounds.
“I am concerned about one thing.” Lake began. The manager of the Galleria proceeded to
continue on “There has been an increase in the presence of Arab looking individuals
here in the past month. That presence
has only increased in the past week.”
Lake was 6’5’ and weighed 250 pounds.
His wavy white hair and mustache helped give him an air of toughness
while remaining fair as well as very open minded.
“What are you driving at.” Bridges asked. His demeanor tended to be lackadaisical at
best on occasion.
“How prepared are you should there be a Westgate
Mall-style attack?” Lake inquired cautiously in reference to the September 2013
terrorist attack in Nairobi, Kenya by al-Shabab. The aforementioned terrorist group was an
offshoot of al-Qaeda.
“As prepared
as we can be.” Bridges stated.
“That means you aren’t prepared enough are you.”
Lake surmised.
“We have armed guards.” Bridges said.
“How many?” Lake inquired as his patience was being
tested.
“Ten to fifteen.” Bridges responded.
“I’m afraid that that is not good enough. I must enlist the sheriff’s department to
have some more officers ready.” Lake acknowledged. The Galleria Mall stood on a huge area of
land which was previously a forest up until Colonial times. Through the years farms stood where the
wooded area once dominated pre-colonial America. Then the farming industry suffered a gradual
decline until the 1980’s where the farms were abandoned since the families had
either died off or went into another line of work. During the economic boom of the 1980’s the
land was bought by a developer who envisioned a shopping mall that would become
the hub of business in the Southern Maryland-Northern Virginia-Washington, DC
area. Once the Galleria Mall was construction
and opened for business on October, 19 1987 it had suffered from a financial
setback especially since the mall opened for business on the same day that the
stock market crashed. It would take
eight years and a change in ownership before the mall would begin to turn a
profit. The new owners began a series of
expansion projects in the late-1990’s while capitalizing on the dotcom boom in
the U.S. economy. During the recessions
of the early as well as the late 2000’s, the Galleria Mall continued to turn a
consistent as well as an expanding profit annually while expanding and adding
new stores that were not only cutting edge, but would be able to successfully
cater to their clientele in the region.
The Galleria’s owners opened a series of malls in the Mid-Atlantic
States that would consistently follow the business model that made the Galleria
a phenomenal success. Although none of
the malls were as successful as the Galleria, they would turn a consistent
profit that increased annually. It was
the owners of the Galleria that had the business savvy to be able to tap into
the mindsets of the clientele in the regions that they opened their malls in
and were able to make their respective malls a success at the same time. It was the Holiday shopping seasons that made
the owners of the Galleria and other shopping malls in the region the most
successful shopping mall developers in the United States.
Ohio
Secretary of State Eric Watson was tossing and turning in his bed. He was nervous about the hearing that was to
take place only hours from now. It was
one that would set the tone for the possible expedient resolution to the
allegations of voter fraud in Ohio. He
was wondering how his counterparts in the other states were holding up this
evening. Were they concerned that their
states would also be found guilty of voter fraud? All these states whose GOP votes were being
disputed all because of allegations of voter tampering. This is a lot worse than the 2000
Presidential Recount. Would the
Republican Party be forever known as the party that hijacks presidential
elections in their favor when their candidate does not win fair and square?
“Honey, try to get some sleep.” Donna Watson said to
her husband.
“How can I know that I may be wrongly implicated in
voter tampering?” Eric replied. Watson’s
brown hair, blue eyes and clean cut movie star good looks gave many an
indication at first glance that he was in the wrong line of work. He usually wore
dark suits which fit professionally well and had a tendency to wear a white
dress shirt with a sequence of multi-colored ties which gave him a look of someone
who seemed very happy in life.
“Look, I know that the votes were cast
honestly. You know that they were cast
honestly. God knows that they were cast
honestly.” Donna said as she drew on their Christian beliefs. Donna also had the look of an actress. Both Watson’s were named sexiest political
couple. She worked as a trustee for the
Columbus City Council. She would be up
for re-election within the next year.
Her dark pantsuits and light color shirts were professionally
appropriate. The couple had been married
for almost twenty years despite being in their early forties. They were childless and too busy to even have
children for that matter.
“Will the American people feel the same way? That is what I want to know.” Eric added.
“Believe me, we are not a nation that resorts to
voter tampering.” Donna said confidentially.
“Tell that to
Katherine Harris.” Eric added in reference to the Florida Secretary of State
back in 2000 “We haven’t heard from her since.”
The Watson residence was in an affluent neighborhood in Columbus,
Ohio. Their marble tables and
post-Victorian chairs as well as the top of the line oak bookshelves and wooden
floors along with the carpets that were brought in from the Orient made the
house a throwback to the turn of the nineteenth to twentieth centuries. The book collection on the maple shelves has
been a family heirloom which dates back to the early 1600’s. Authors ranging from Plutarch, Plato and
Aristotle right up to Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, John LeCarre, Vince Flynn,
Brad Thor as well as Joel C. Rosenberg are placed in order of the date of
publication throughout the eighteen shelf reading room in which a marble desk
and a reclining chair dated back to the antebellum period.
