The Lonely Seagull

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For me, The Lonely Seagull was like going back home for a visit. I spent summers on Plum Island in the late 50s and early 60s. That was city years ago, but it seems like yesterday. The places are real or were. The Whittaker cottage was my grandfather's and is still there. There is much of me in the child Joel Whittaker. Bobby Neeland was my best friend. I loved to fly kites. Many of the first names are family members. Mr. McCreedy was real, but he lived in my childhood home of Hampstead, and I never inherited a dime. And Karen? She's real, but our romance wasn't torrid. And Grace? She is a figment of my imagination and a story gift from God to deliver the message: God looks at the heart.

In this story Joel Whittaker marries his high school sweetheart only to lose her in a tragic sailing accident in 1958. Solely responsible for his six-year-old son, he believes his happily ever after has come to an end and now he must do what's best for Billy. But God has another plan for Joel’s life. The pieces of the puzzle are all there, they just need to be rearranged. That's what God does. He gives us second chances.