About the Author

Dennis L Geist was born and raised in a rural area of northern Wisconsin and is the son of parents who lived through the trials of the Great Depression and WWII. He is a husband, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

Dennis has been a businessman and public servant for much of his adult life, including the Mayor of the City of Cornell.

Author: Life Story by Dennis L Geist

The book begins with his parents' life and transitions to his life struggles and accomplishments. The book contains stories that show his subtle wit and humor about the life of ordinary people.

 Reviews:

 “This book shows the hard work during good times and bad that past generations dealt with to make this country what it is. This is the backbone of society. Every teen should read this now.”

 "It was an excellent book. It made me laugh and cry.”

 "I really enjoyed reading this book.  It clearly demonstrates the importance of Family, Faith, and Unconditional Love.”

Available in E-Book, Hard Copy, and Paper Back

Available on Amazon: Search: Life Story by Dennis L Geist  

Life Story

Introduction

This book is about the real foundation of our country.  It is about the lives of people that we consider to be the salt of the earth.  It is not a story about money nor fame. It is about real hard-working people that were about values, friendships, and working together to solve everyday problems. Their labor and dedication to making a better life for their families substantially contributed to building America.  This contribution is often lost in society today.

This story is about the author's family. It spans a period of over 100 years.  It could be a story about different families as it parallels the lives of millions of families that contributed to laying the foundation upon which our country was built. It is about where we came from, what it took to get the author's family here, and how we pass that along to future generations. It is a story about ordinary life and ordinary struggles, filled with determination and success.  The most significant of which is the introduction of unconditional love and how that is one of the most important emotional support tools we can have in encouraging others to do the best they can.

Several chapters guide you through the early timelines of our family beginnings, special events that had a profound impact on me, and stories that show what kind of family we are, including a somewhat humorous side.

Most of the books that I have read over time were about famous people or significant historical events.  In addition, many offered historical insight into modern science and technology advances.  Some of the books were just reports explaining the significance of current news events or touting the benefits of breakthrough medicines or the advancement in medical procedures.  All of these make for interesting reads.  Some of the best would be about the struggles of individuals and families overcoming adversities.  These would include those that labored hard, and by trial and error would provide the inventions that introduced us to the possibilities of the future.  Some of these people would become very wealthy and powerful, or our nation’s leaders.  Others would only be recognized by their achievements and contributions to society.  All of this is a very important part of our history and provides a better life for all of us today.  What I have not read are books about ordinary people, recognizing their equally important contributions to the foundation and moral fabric of our country. 

The inspiration for this story comes from a dream I had when I was about 8 years old.  Laying on the front lawn of our home, I would create an image of what life might be like in the future.  Like many typical boys, one could develop a pretend world that would seem surreal.  I recall watching the clouds moving across the sky. In the end, I reconnect with them as a metaphor for our track in life.  Where did they come from and where are they going?

 The author starts with his Mother and Father in the early 1900s.  They started with nothing.  They lived through the post-World War One era, the Great Depression, World War Two, and the Korean Conflict.  Each of these created a low point in their life.  It is a story of how they worked hard and overcame.  They raised seven children, five of their own and two of my Mother's siblings.  Their story demonstrates love and commitment to each other.  Not to say there weren’t disagreements similar to what almost all of us have from time to time.

The story transitions to me, the author. My life and family and how the lessons learned from my Mother and Father would guide me.  It expresses the reliance on the foundation that they created. We are not famous people, nor did we accumulate great wealth as often is the criteria of success. It is quite possible that we are not even typical.  However, our ups and downs in life and what we accomplished can be seen as an example of what life was like for others. I have written this book as a tribute to my Mother and Father for providing me with a road map for life. I share this story with all of us ordinary people, they are in themselves, important and famous. It is just not typically noted in society.  They are the real heroes and the foundation of our country.  I dedicate this book to all of them.

Chapter 1

A Young Boy’s Dream

Often on hot summer days, I would spend the afternoon just lying down in the front yard of our home.  I was about 8 years old in the early 1950s.  At that age, I did have few chores to do around the farm, not so that it robbed me of time to create a world of my own.  It only existed in my mind of course, but it was mine and no one else could have it.  I would pretend that the shadows on the lawn cast by the towering trees at its edge were a lake or an ocean.  In my world, I could safely swim there; or go fishing.  I could dream of pirate ships sailing through our backyard and me as the defender.  My Father worked at the local paper mill and he would pull comic books from the loads of waste paper that was added to the wood pulp to make their specialty paper products.  I would lay in the yard and read all of them over and over again.  They often contained science fiction as well as stories of Archie and Veronica as young teenagers growing up.  Well at my age, I did not realize that this was not just entertaining, but educational as well.  In all, there were a variety of comic books to read with an equal variety of storylines.  I remember focusing on science fiction.  Flash Gordon, Captain Midnight fighting evils on Earth and from outer space.  I would join them in their adventures with my sidekick Shep.  This was our cattle dog.  We could send him out to round up the cows and bring them up to the barn for milking.  Sometimes when a cow strayed off and hid in the brush to have her calf, Dad would take Shep to find them.  He never failed.  Little did Shep know, of course, how many roles he would play in my fantasies.

 A good share of the time, I would just lay there looking up at the sky.  It was peaceful, except for the noise of a rare car traveling by or a farm tractor going down the road.  This world was mine and I would get lost in it.  I watched the puffy white clouds taking a stroll through the sky, wondering where did they come from and where were they going.  I would see an occasional flock of birds or the occasional siting of a hawk looking for its next meal.  The only thing that could disrupt the serenity of my world was crows getting into Mom’s Garden which was at the edge of the lawn.  She had scarecrows up and that did not always work and I would go and chase them away. 

I would dream about how would it be in the year 1990.  Wow! That would seem a long way off.  Would I even be here or what would it be like?  Would I be joining my comic book heroes in fighting truth and justice, whatever that meant, on Earth and in space?  I was fixated on this and could not get there fast enough.  This little toe-head boy laying there in the hot summer months keeping a watch on the sky, saw the future or at least the one he would conjugate in his mind.  Well, that little boy found out and he blew right past 1990 at bullet train speed.  As I write this story, it is now 2023 and I am 78 years old. A lot has happened since that little boy had his dreams.  The story should begin here, but first, like where did the cloud come from, we need to review how this little boy got here and the struggles his parents endured.  What it took for them to create this lawn so this little boy could have his dream.  I begin this story at the beginning, our family roots, and the early life of my parents.