Memoir’s purpose: to inspire and enlighten

 Hey Craig,

“… Finished reading your book … I have to say that it’s incredibly enlightening and thought provoking! Needless to say that I'm still in the overall “processing” stage. However, I no longer feel like I walked into a movie that was halfway over. I now have insight as to what happened before I arrived on campus (1971), and I can put together the pieces a whole lot better.

       I can better appreciate what you, Janice (Cooley), Ed (Carter), et al were dealing with amid all of the hope and hype concerning The Young Thundering Herd! I regret that you and I never sat and talked when we attended school together. I’m sure that I would have been a more “aware” young man – both socially and spiritually – than I was.”

Chuck Jackson

Houston, Texas

       Chuck Jackson’s comment to one of my blog entries confirmed what I already knew about the value of the memoir November Ever After. This is a story that needed to be written and it’s a story that’s worthy to be shared with the masses.

       For people such as Chuck, who came to Marshall after the tragedy, the book provides a proper frame of reference for what campus life was like before the crash. For those, like me, who were there at the time of the disaster, the book opens the door for some level of closure on an event that none of us will ever forget.

       Keep in mind that for those of us who were around on the night that Marshall’s plane went down, the football season of 1971 represented a truly a mixed bag. I can’t speak for everyone who suffered from the pain of losing their schoolmates. But I do feel safe in saying that most of us engaged in an emotional tug-of-war when it was time for the start of a new season with essentially a brand-new team – the “Young Thundering Herd”.

       None of would ever forget about the ’70 Marshall team that was gone and would never return. But on the other hand, there was cause to rejoice and cause to cling to renewed hope. In spite of the heavy losses, Marshall opted to continue playing football.

       In my mind, the fact that the school refused to deep-six its football program, will always serve as a fitting tribute to the seventy-five people who died in a fiery plane crash on November 14, 1970.

Tune-in tonight when author Craig T. Greenlee talks about his book “November Ever After” with host Ella Curry on the Black Authors Network Showcase. The one-hour show begins at 8 o’clock. Feel free to use the call-in line (646) 200-0402 to ask questions or offer comments.

Listen to the show on-line at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Black-Author-Network

See video teaser about tonight's show 

On Monday: BAN Showcase radio interview

Black Authors Network Showcase

Craig T. Greenlee, the author of November Ever After, will discuss his book as a featured guest on this one-hour show to be aired on blog talk radio. Show host is Ella Curry, president of EDC Creations and publisher of Black Pearls Magazine Online

... Showtime ... 

Monday, October 8, 2012

8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

All are welcome to tune-in and give some feedback

To get the hook-up:

Call-in line (646) 200-0402

Or, go online: 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Black-Author-Network

Chat room available on BAN's web site

The Black Authors Network celebrates the best in books, authors, book clubs and community leaders.

November Ever After: What readers have learned

       The Marshall University football plane crash is part of American sports history. The whole story, however, has never been told. That's all changed with the release of "November Ever After," a memoir written by a former MU defensive back who knew most of the players who died on the night of November 14, 1970. I've included a few factoids below that provides a clearer picture of what makes my book so very unique and so different than anything else that's ever been done on the topic. Here's a sampling of what you'll learn in reading a story whose time has finally come.

• Previously-produced documentaries and the movie We Are Marshall created a much-needed national platform for the story. But, those media productions are only appetizers. November Ever After is the full-course meal.

• This is high-profile sports history that's loaded with eyewitness input.

• The complete story is so amazing that it sounds like fiction, but it’s not. As readers pour through the chapters, they discover how things played out in real life.

• Content-rich memoir has provocative story line which includes romance, premonition, prophecy, denial, depression, revelation, relief and ecstasy.

• This book is one-of-a-kind. It tells an old story with a twist that’s new and true.

• Discover what things were really like when Marshall started rebuilding its football program in the months following the November plane crash.

• Learn why life would never be the same for those who were left behind in the aftermath of the tragedy.

• Get an up-close-and-personal look at personal relationships of girlfriends, personal friends, family members and loved ones of those players who perished.

• The crash squashed a potentially-bloody race riot on the Marshall campus.                                                                                                                                                                 

Writer set for guest appearance on radio showcase

       The Black Authors Network Showcase celebrates the best in books, authors, book clubs and community leaders who address a wide range of subjects on blog talk radio on Mondays and Wednesdays.

       Next week, the showcase will feature November Ever After author Craig T. Greenlee as a special guest. He will discuss his book on the one-hour show, hosted by Ella Curry, president of EDC Creations and publisher of Black Pearls Magazine Online. 

       Show time is Monday, October 8 at 8 p.m.

       Greenlee is a former Marshall University athlete who knew most of the players who died in the plane crash that killed most of the school’s football team nearly 42 years ago. His memoir goes beyond the night of the crash and draws heavily on the never-told-before stories of those who were left behind.

       Everyone is invited to call-in and talk to the author at (646) 200-0402. You can listen in on your computer and enter the chat room at:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Black-Author-Network

       Downloads of the broadcast will be available approximately one hour after the show is finished.

 

November Ever After gets high 5s from Amazon

Feedback: Book offers fascinating look at crash

BY ED LANE

Editor’s Note: I’m always interested in what people think after they’ve read the book I wrote about the 1970 Marshall University plane crash – “November Ever After.” A few months back, I met Ed Lane and several other media people at a book signing event in North Carolina during the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Awards Weekend. Ed recently contacted me and shared his thoughts about my memoir (read below).

       Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It’s a quick read, concise, and to the point. It offers a fascinating look at the plane crash and its aftermath. So often when news stories of tragedy occur, people tend to focus on the immediate impact. They don't examine the after-effects. The book does a thorough job in covering that aspect of the disaster.

       In my opinion, the most memorable part of this book was reading about the trips that survivors went on as they attended the funerals of their schoolmates. There were countless examples how people showed their genuine care and compassion for one another. The writer’s decision to address the chilly racial atmosphere on campus serves as a sobering reminder about the ills of racial bigotry.

       I recommend this book because it delivers an accurate account of a historical event. It also introduces a side of the plane crash story that has generally been overlooked by the mainstream media. While the book’s author makes it clear that he’s not too thrilled with the movie “We Are Marshall,” I feel he was fairly accurate in his assessment of the film.

       The book did surprise me in one area in particular. Mr. Greenlee went the distance to explain and illustrate how this tragedy affected the crash victims’ significant others, friends and family members for many years after the crash.

Ed Lane is the host of the afternoon drive sports talk show “Southside Connection,” which airs Monday-Friday at 5 p.m.  on ESPN Southside 1160-AM in Martinsville, Virginia.

Paranormal happenings at Marshall crash site?

       Any reports of paranormal activity at the Marshall plane crash site? The question was posted in the Huntington, WVa. forum of the Topix.com website.

     On the night of November 14, 1970, a jetliner carrying most of Marshall University’s football team, coaching staff, school administrators and boosters, slammed into the side of a mountain as it attempted to land at Tri-State Airport. There were no survivors among the 75 passengers on board.

       You may or may not believe in the existence of the paranormal. Even so, the forum has some thought-provoking comments. A former airport employee – “A Witness” of Scott Depot, WVa. –  shared the following recollection on the forum in late October 2010: 

       Must have been 20 or so years back as far as I can remember. I was mowing the grass around the Tri-State Airport when I heard a loud roar and saw a large passenger jet slam into the hillside over the edge of where I was working.

       I thought I had lost my mind. But instinctively, I ran toward the site where I saw the plane crash. What did I find when I finally made it to what I later found out was the exact spot where the Marshall flight crashed?

       Nothing.

       It wasn't what I saw, but what I heard that sent shivers down my spine.

       I heard a faint chant, as if the 75 passengers of the doomed flight were speaking in unison, “we are, Marshall, we are, Marshall.” I didn't bother telling anyone for some time as I knew I would be labeled “psychotic.”

       To this day I know what I heard and no one will ever tell me otherwise.
       I always felt a presence in the air while I worked at the airport and that day was just far more bizarre than usual. People don't appreciate the great number of lives lost in the immediate area surrounding the airport. There's bound to be a lot of paranormal activity there. 
       “A Witness” isn’t the only person who weighed in on this topic. On this same Topix.com forum, “I Know” of South Point, Ohio wrote:
       There were some very strange occurrences that happened on campus while the crew for “We Are Marshall” was filming … especially during the filming of the fountain scene. I was there.
       The almost palpable presence of “something” is always there at the ceremony when MU celebrates the anniversary of the crash.

Photography: agrannysplaceisinthecockpit.blogspot.com