Celestra’s Plan

By Michael Barr Mossman

Celestra’s Plan tells the story of how Wil Mossman grew up in a small Midwestern town around the time of the War in Afghanistan. Wil thinks he has met the girl of his dreams at a college dance. However, Wil does not know about her true identity. A trip to California and an unexpected trip to Texas sets his life in a new direction.

Wil’s love for a woman leads him on a rescue mission to Afghanistan, and then to a large cattle ranch in Texas. Soon, Wil finds himself fighting drug dealers in his attempt to save the woman he loves. However, Wil’s life has been greatly influenced by the love of two other beautiful women. A mystical muse, named Celestra, enters into Wil’s life and directs him to his one true love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728372884

Michael Barr Mossman

Michael Barr Mossman was born in Alton, Illinois. He served honorably in the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam. Mr. Mossman attended St. Bernard College in Cullman, Alabama. He graduated from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and received a Master’s Degree from Oklahoma University at Norman. Mr. Mossman spent thirty-three years in the fields of Elementary and Special Education. He and his wife Barbara, are currently residing in Orange Park, Florida.

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Celestra’s

Plan

Michael Barr Mossman

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© 2020 Michael Barr Mossman. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  09/09/2020

ISBN: 978-1-7283-7289-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-7288-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020917044

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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M y name is Avril Harmon. I work for the State Department in Washington DC. Sitting before me is Wilfred Mossman, Jr. Wil will receive the Medal of Meritorious

Service from the Vice President of the United States. The award is given to those who risk their lives in order to serve their country. He will be accompanied by a distinguished former FBI Agent, Jean McGregor. I asked Wil to tell his life story on tape so that his legacy would not be forgotten. The tape was recorded at his ranch in Texas:

Good afternoon, Mr. Harmon. I was born in 1981 and grew up in Bluff City. Bluff City is a small river town in Illinois. My dad, Wilfred Sr. died when I was very young. He was a great amateur actor and writer of poems. His writings have been very influential in my life. My mom re-married, so I lived with my mother, step-dad and a step-brother named Dave. My step-dad’s name was Tom Kelly but I decided to keep my own name of Mossman.

In high school I had a group of friends who hung out together. There was Tim Ryan, Pat Allen, Wayne Holt and Joe Dutton. We were all of common means as our parents worked at the local glass factory. We enjoyed playing pick-up games of basketball and touch football. I was an average student and did not excel in any major sport. But all of us guys enjoyed playing sandlot sports.

I had one girlfriend in high school. Her name was Dee Smith. She was in my class at grade school so it was more like a friendship than a romance. However, we did go swimming together in an old rock quarry located north of town. We were having fun until one day we were asked to leave because of dangerous falling rock.

In my senior year of high school I decided to go out for football. The coach, Bob Holmes, let me go out because he liked my short distance speed. The coach put me at running back and I got to play in several games. The name of our team was the Bluff City Redbirds. We had a winning season and we qualified to play in the Conference Championship game against East High School. The game was played on a cold November night. The stands were packed full of people huddled together in order to keep warm. On the very opening play we experienced bad luck. Our starting left Halfback had to leave the game because of a shoulder injury. That really hurt our offensive efforts and we struggled to stay in the game. We found ourselves behind by six points late in the fourth quarter. Our second-string Halfback got sick and had to leave the game. The coach was left no choice. He had to send me into the game. Give it all you’ve got! he yelled.

On the first play our Fullback took the handoff and was tackled for no gain. The next two plays resulted in failed pass attempts. It was now our last play with ten seconds left to go in the game. My number was then called in the huddle. The play was to be a fake pass and a handoff. Our Quarterback would drop back to pass, and then hand the ball to me. This would be our last chance. Jim Hunter got the ball after the snap. He dropped back to pass. All the defenders rushed him as planned. Then he handed me the ball! I spotted a huge opening on the left side of their line. I raced through it as fast as my legs would carry me. My legs were churning, and I was only ten yards away from the winning touchdown! Suddenly, I felt a hard slap at my back heel. I began to stumble. Much to my horror, I lost my balance and fell to the ground. I was only one yard short of the goal line! The gun went off and we had lost the game. The crowd that was so excited was now hushed. I would have been a hero if I would have scored that touchdown. Instead, my half-frozen body rested alone on the cold, hard ground. The other players weren’t mad at me. They knew it was a team effort and that I had given it my best shot.

After my senior year I decided that I was not ready for college. I wanted to work a year at the local glass factory. My step-dad helped me get the job. It was hard work but I was able to mature, and save money for college. The next year I entered Southern Illinois University as a freshman. The university was located in nearby Carbondale. I decided to major in Education because I always thought teaching to be a noble profession. I also decided to go out for football and made the freshman team as a wide receiver. There were two guys from Florida who were also out for the team. Don Sweeney was a 6'3 Tight End and John Dell was a 5'11 Halfback. We became good friends and hung out together that first year.

I met Kathy Molloy at the college bookstore in the fall of 2001. She was an attractive dark blond and was a local girl from Carbondale. Once I looked at Kathy, I knew that she was the girl I had always dreamed about. She was popular and had lots of charisma. Besides being beautiful, she was also an outstanding student. In short, she had it all. I asked Kathy out right away. We discovered that we had everything in common. She planned to become a language teacher but she was also a skilled seamstress. Kathy and I dated for the rest of that year. We took walks in the park and climbed the bluffs overlooking the river. In the evening, we frequently hung out at the local college pub, the Middletown Lounge. My friends, from Bluff City, also congregated there. Life couldn’t be any better for us.

Kathy and I often double-dated with Mike Mathews and Carol Wilbanks. The four of us went to the Star Light Drive-Inn Movie, rode horses and went swimming together. We declared ourselves friends for life. However, by the end of the year the winds of change begun to blow. Mike Mathews decided to join the Marine Corps and Kathy informed me that she was joining the Peace Corps. I always wanted to do something for humanity, she said. I was very disappointed but we promised to write each other often and get married upon her return. Kathy said that she would enjoy learning about the culture of Central America. She told me that the Peace Corps wanted to send her to Panama. It’s only for a year, she said.

As far as the freshman football team, we weren’t too bad. We ended the season 6-3, and only lost one home game. Coach Charlie Vaughn pulled Don Sweeney off the freshman team and placed him on the varsity. He was that good. As for me, the highlight of the year was catching a touchdown pass against Evansville University. The pass was thrown by star Quarterback Earhart Clifford. Clifford was a star Quarterback recruit from Decatur, Georgia. He turned down several other schools for SIU because his girlfriend was from the area and he knew, at SIU,