by Yanzhi Zhao, 2023
This is Adam’s book. It was given to him by Jim Owens. Jim Owens is Captain – and Adam’s long-time fishing client – a really good guy. Jim Owens was Danny Merrill’s captain in piloting Fed Ex planes. This book is all about Danny Merrill and the struggles he had in life. He became a fighter pilot – Top Hook – and then a Fed Ex pilot, but lost it all because of bad decisions, bad family life (really bad wife), alcoholism. He persevered, though. He quit drinking and stayed quit. He moved to Hot Springs, South Dakota, hood-winked into moving there by a brother who lied to him. Once his brother was out of the picture, gone back to prison, Danny stayed there and through his own resolve, good habits, and some good people, he made it back to being a pilot again. Adam took Jim Owens and his wife (Gina), and Danny and his now wife, fishing this summer. Danny has cancer now. His now wife is a Chinese woman and her son wrote this book, although Adam believes it was really the Chinese wife that wrote the book. It is so detailed and only someone very intimate could know all of these details of Danny’s life. It’s also written like a female would write things, a female whose native language was not English. Here’s the back cover of the book:
My favorite part was the friendship he formed with an older neighbor lady in Hot Springs, South Dakota. She really believed in him. He would go over there and have tea and cookies. She had a dog and cat. She was the best. She fought for him, gave him good advice, kept him on the straight and narrow with her loving kindness and hospitality.