Playing With The Enemy - Author

www.PlayingWithTheEnemy.com

Gene Moore

He was a baseball prodigy. At the age of fifteen, Gene Moore was a boy, playing like a man, in a game where men, play like boys.

Headed for baseball stardom with the Brooklyn Dodgers, his destiny was interrupted by
Pearl Harbor.
His life... and
maybe our
national
pastime...
would be
forever altered.

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My latest posts for 2010 from my new & current blog! Click herefor the new blog site. www.GarywMoore.com

Author Blog Archive 2008

Choosing Optimism or Pessimism!
by Gary Moore
December 27^th 2008

I have received so many letters and comments from newsletter and blog readers about my emails, encouraging everyone not to panic over economic conditions. One reader recently commented, "You must not be affected or you would not be so calm." Well, let me share with you that I am and continue to be devastated by the world economy. My business has been forced into dormancy due to the lack of consumer credit available for their purchases from my company, which has caused many of our customers to default on their obligations to our firm. My losses, both monetary and emotional are higher than I can count, but here is how I remain calm and positive.

What a year it has been so far! With all the events that have unfolded in 2008 it is easy to be distracted. Quite frankly, there are so many things swirling in my mind and life, Christmas just "snuck up" on me. I am really looking forward to Christmas, as my family will be together under one roof for the first time since summer. Arlene and I cherish these gatherings as they seem to happen with less regularity than we would like, but when you have your kids in LA and Chicago, we'll take them when we can get them!

Brrrr... it is cold and snowy in Bourbonnais, Illinois! As I sit and stare out into our back pasture, I find myself thinking about the legs that Playing with the Enemy has sprouted. I am now receiving letters from all over the world. It is truly amazing. Thank you for your continued support and interest in this book.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Arlene and I usually have twenty or more people staying with us from Wednesday through Sunday and even a few more for Thanksgiving dinner. Arlen is an amazing organizer and has the days planned to a "T". From the competitive bake-off, where everyone is required to make something for the competition to the movie theater, to lunch and shopping in Chicago, to leftovers... Thanksgiving is truly an event.

The results are in and we have a new President-elect. Regardless of your party affiliation ... setting aside who you voted for … it is time to come together as Americans and support our new President and other elected officials. It is certainly my prayer that the name calling, back-biting and dirty politics on all sides will come to an end and we can move forward, positively, together as One Nation, Under God and Indivisible.

We have exchanged Emails over the last few weeks regarding the state of the economy and the nation. It has nothing to do with this website and Playing with the Enemy but I felt compelled, like many of you, to reach out in the midst of the uncertainty and encourage everyone to remain calm as the dust settles. Fortunately, I was right. Things are never as bad as they seem at the moment.

The rhetoric from our government and news media has changed. They now talk about recession, a soft economy and a slow recovery. They are now longer using phrases like “Total meltdown of our economy”, “collapse of the American way of life” and “total and complete worldwide depression.” The irresponsibility of these scare tactics is incomprehensible to me but it is what it is. I think someday soon we will look back at our mainstream news media and current crop of politicians with both sadness and disgust.

Our world has been rocked by the current financial crisis. I see it on the faces of business travelers at airports. I see it on the streets and hear it in the voices of people I know. Take heart and be strong. We live in the safest place on the globe and enjoy a system that encourages success. We will come back stronger than ever before. The American Spirit has endured worse and we will not only survive, but thrive.

Dear Friends,

Greetings from the North Platte, NE airport where I am delayed!

I had the sincere pleasure today of being the speaker at the North Platte Town Hall Lecture Series. What an amazing event in a wonderful and historic town! The North Platte Town Hall Lecture series is held 4 times a year in a gorgeous old and renovated theater down town. We had a crowd of roughly 700 for the lecture and about 300 for the following luncheon. The audiences were engaging and I feel blessed to have been a part of this wonderful event. The talk was about Playing with the Enemy with a focus on the benefit of communication.

Dear Friends,

Remain strong. The news of the last few weeks is discouraging at best and devastating to some. Many people are only marginally affected while others are impacted to a greater degree. I guess it is a recession if your neighbor loses his job and a depression if you lose yours. I have heard from a few people who are nervous about their future and a few others who are frightened. Remain strong. Our best times are in our future, not our past.

In these uncertain times, it is important to look to examples of how others have successfully dealt with problems and overcome obstacles. There is always opportunity in adversity. There is always hope in despair. Keep your eyes wide open and your attitudes positive.

Bill O'Reilly says so.

His detractors, like David Letterman, say it is a ridiculous notion residing only in O'Reilly's head and within the covers of O'Reilly's bestselling book Culture Warrior.

Bestseller? I guess that means the hundreds of thousands of people who agreed with him bought copies.

Please check the events page often. I will be speaking in Peoria, IL next week, in Anaheim, CA and Naperville and Chicago, IL in June. Please come out and say hi!

A few from time to time have connected dots in this story that were never meant to be connected and I would like to take a moment to try to disconnect them. Ray Laws is not Elroy Face and it is not my intention to infer they are the same person. I met Elroy Face at a Cubs game in roughly 1964 and mention the meeting in the last chapter.

The flight attendant just announced we are over Columbus, Ohio, in route from Pittsburgh to St. Louis. I am in St. Louis tonight and Milwaukee tomorrow where the official launch tour of the Playing with the Enemy paperback/audio book will close. I have been from one coast to the other and many stops in between. I have met many outstanding people and enjoyed the privilege of introducing my father to a new group of readers. I am grateful to Branda, Louise and Shannon at Penguin for their hard work and support, while continuing to be grateful to Ted and Sarah at Savas Beatie, LLC for originally publishing the hardcover that began this journey.

Two exciting events have occurred in the life of Playing with the Enemy. First of all, I was interviewed on CNN while in Atlanta and that interview is now posted on our web site. Also, as you may or may not know, I was selected as a contributing author for the newly released book, Chicken Soup for the Father & Son Soul.

As usual, I am writing from an airport gate. The sun is not yet up and I am headed to Chicago from Atlanta. Great Lakes Naval Training Center is my destination for a book signing late this morning.

It is out and available. You can find them anywhere fine books are sold and they are available from all the online venues. Playing with the Enemy is out in paperback and audio book and I think you will love the additions. Penguin, my paperback publisher, one of the largest publishers in the world, decided to change the cover and the book subtitle.

I am sitting at Gate A5 at Chicago Midway, heading to Minneapolis for a speaking and book signing engagement with the Public Library Association. As I sit here, I realize it is still March and I am heading to Minnesota and did not bring a coat, other than the sport coat on my back. Note to self … do a better job of climate planning for the upcoming book tour...

I received an Email this week from a young man asking, "Where have you been? Why don't you blog more?" In answer to the first question, I have been all over. If you look at the events or past events pages at www.playingwiththeenemy.com you will see where I am going and where I have been promoting this story...

First of all, I have several works in progress. I am writing a book commissioned by a major motion picture company based upon the life of a WWII fighter pilot. It is reverse engineering of sorts, as I am writing this book based upon an already written screenplay, which will be produced in 2009. I am having fun working on this project and am thrilled and honored to be chosen as the author. I am also working on a George Washington project that I think you will find dramatically different from other Washington books on the market. I have always been a big fan of George, so this is a labor of love.

This single word adorns one of the opening pages of Playing with the Enemy. Some don't notice it. Some ignore it, while others ask, "What is Splooie?"

I didn't know Andy Lancaster but I now know of him. He is evidenced all over and around the small community of Stockton, Illinois. As Arlene and I approached the tiny community of 2000, nestled in the rolling hills of the northwestern part of our state, we began seeing flags posted along the road. As we passed the high school, the flags had yellow ribbons attached to them, which made me believe for a moment they were anticipating the return of their favorite son from the military. It occurred to me that he must have done something heroic to warrant such a reception. Then we came across the sobering sign at Stockton High School which read, "Memorial Services for Sergeant Andrew W. Lancaster Friday August 17 at 7:00 PM."

I had the distinct pleasure Saturday night to speak to a reunion of the Guadalcanal Task Force 22.3. That's right! These are the men who captured the German Submarine U-505! What a thrill to be with them and share the story of what happened to their German prisoners after they captured them and dropped them off in Norfolk, VA. It was truly a wonderful experience. They seemed genuinely excited about hearing the events contained in Playing with the Enemy. What an honor it was to have the privilege to meet them and share this story.

Yesterday, Arlene and I were shopping at our local food store in preparation for the Memorial Day weekend. The store was playing patriotic music over the intercom and the atmosphere was markedly Americana. Suddenly while standing in the aisle separating fruits from baked goods, the Star Spangled Banner began to play. I stopped and looked at Arlene while we both placed our hands over our hearts. We looked around the store for an American flag but one was not to be found. Arlene began laughing and pointed down at a cake painted like Old Glory.

I am always sentimental about both Mothers and Fathers Day. Both my parents are now gone and the days celebrating your parents is a reminder they are no longer here. I miss them and am eternally grateful for the example they set and the sacrifices they made for me and my brother and sisters.

I am sitting at my gate waiting for my return flight to Chicago. I visited the Steel City for a book signing last night at Borders and a TV appearance earlier the same day. It was a great trip but always a pleasure to return home. I am struck by the beauty of this place. Pittsburgh still has the reputation of an old steel manufacturing town but it has been transformed into a high-tech center and by appearances, seems to be booming. The view driving into Pittsburgh at night is stunning. The architecture is remarkable and the people welcoming.

On this day in 1926, in a tiny three room house in Sesser, Illinois, my father, Warren Eugene Moore was born. On his birthday, eighty one years later, all over the nation and the world, tens of thousands of people know him from the book, Playing with the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, a World at War and a Field of Broken Dreams.

Tonight, I am at this gate working on a project that we cannot yet announce but it brings back the memory of hours and hours sitting in airports and on planes (Southwest of course!) while traveling for business and writing Playing with the Enemy. Little did I know that the story of "the country boy from Sesser, Illinois" would be loved and embraced by so many across the nation and in fact around the world. Thank you for your continued interest in the story of Gene Moore. Let me fill you in on what is going on!

Playing with the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, a World at War and a Field of Broken Dreams is doing very well. In fact, Playing with the Enemy is enjoying an ever-increasing ground-swell of support and gaining the attention of readers and reviewers worldwide! The Playing with the Enemy movie will move into pre-production in February and is scheduled to begin filming in May. We are looking forward later this year to the release of the paperback edition and hope to have an announcement soon about an audio version of Playing with the Enemy. As you can see, we still have a tremendous amount of work ahead in spreading the word about "the country boy who could hit the ball a country mile," and look forward to the challenge.

Arlene and I traveled to Sesser over the weekend and were once again reminded of the warmth and charm of this unique little community. Sesser is a very special place and it is the people of Sesser who make it so.

Last weekend Arlene and I had the incredible pleasure of attending three book signings in Iowa. Des Moines, Waterloo and Mason City were the sites of three great events, with Mason City being "standing room only!" Thank you to all who attended.

We all dream. The younger we are, the more grandiose our dreams. We dream of playing in the World Series or the Super Bowl. We dream of Olympic Gold medals and of sinking the winning put in the Masters. As we get older our dreams change and for some, the dreams become reminders of what we have not accomplished in life and we begin suppressing them to the point that we no longer dream.

The night before the official release of Playing with the Enemy, Toby, Travis and I had the pleasure of taking the Playing with the Enemy team - publisher Ted Savas, illustrator Val Laologi, publicist Carole Bartholomeaux, Savas Beatie Marketing Director Sarah Stephan, Literary Agent Tris Coburn, and Producer David Ranes to Memorial Garden Cemetery in Kankakee, Illinois. It is where my mother and father are buried.

The Playing with the Enemy National Book Tour Sponsored by Southwest Airlines is off and running!

We began with a pre-tour press conference Thursday morning, announcing that Academy Award winning Producer, Gerald Molen and Whitelight Entertainment, will be producing Playing with the Enemy as a major motion picture!

Thank you JDRF Desert Southwest Chapter!

Last night I had the sincere pleasure of attending the Arizona Diamondbacks game at the beautiful Chase Field … or as the locals still lovingly refer to it as BOB Park.

The Playing with the Enemy National Book Tour!

I am excited! The Playing with the Enemy National Book Tour is only a week away and if you haven’t taken a look at the “Events” page on my website, please do so. Playing with the Enemy is most likely “coming to a town near you!”

PLAYING WITH THE ENEMY BOOK AND MOVIE NEWS!

The Book!

Wow. I didn’t know how I would feel when it happened, but the feeling is truly indescribable. I am holding PLAYING WITH THE ENEMY: A Baseball Prodigy, a World at War and a Field of Broken Dreams in my hand. Not the galley, but the finished and published product and the only word that comes to mind is wow.

Sesser, Illinois in 1940

In 1940, baseball was the major source of entertainment for people in America. There was no television in 1940. The sixteen largest cities in the nation enjoyed major league teams, but in smaller communities like Sesser, Illinois, summer life revolved around the town baseball team. Nearly every town—regardless of size—had a team. The focus in America during the latter years of the depression was local baseball. Sesser is 90 miles from St. Louis, but to most people in 1940 Sesser, 90 miles might as well have been 900 miles. Few people owned a car, the Great Depression was still in full swing, and funds were limited. Sesser folk had three choices: they could listen to St. Louis Cardinals’ games on KMOX radio, read about them once a week in the Sesser newspaper, or go out to “The Lumberyard” and watch the local Sesser Egyptians play ball!

I will turn 52 years old in July. Also in July, my only daughter Tara Beth will be married. This spring and early summer, my youngest son, Travis and I spent hours planting grapes, raspberries, blueberries and 6 cherry trees. Last fall, I planted 14 apple trees. I am realizing as I type this that all of these events are related.

Have you hugged a Veteran today?

Today is Memorial Day. We have been celebrating this holiday as a nation since 1873. This Monday, May 29, 2006, has a very special and renewed meaning for me.

Notes from Book Expo of America

What a surreal experience! Book Expo of America (BEA) in Washington, DC now seems like a blur. BEA is a high-energy nonstop event that is both exciting and exhausting. My compliments to the staff and leadership of BEA. They did an outstanding job.

P Please consider the environment before printing this page.

Southwest Airlines is the Proud Sponsor of the Playing with the Enemy Hardcover Book Tour!