Markings in the Mail by a Sidney Boy Volume One - I Heard the Eagle's Piercing Cries

In the stirring lead story, the Matriarch of Talhtan shows courage in the face of racism and assimilation; first her baby dies in a blizzard, then her other three are seized. Wally blows the whistle on the provincial welfare department because of discrimination, and gross neglect in addressing the problems of the province's needy. 'Wally's Welfare War' erupts. Six social workers are suspended in a civil servant rebellion. Wally du Temple and Bridget Moran are fired, and four workers are suspended. A variety of other tales follow: Banned from government service, Wally paddles into the jaw's of hell recreating a route abandoned by fur traders a century earlier; a wilderness story of outward bound danger and courage. Next, Wally goes sailing, and manages Ardmore Golf Course for his mom. Short writings about the environment are followed by "Cialis and Sex At The First Tee". The Donkey 4H Club takes over Ardmore Golf Course, and initiates the first Santa Claus Parade in Sidney. Shameless sex disrupts golf at the first tee. "I Didn't Know It Then" concerns blood brothers, male sexuality, homophobia and alcoholism. The last story is about the exceptional love between a mule and a horse. All stories are introduced by letters which Wally sent to the old family mail box of home. They were 'markings in the mail' for his mom.