My name is Arthur Ruger. I live on the corner of Coeur D Alene and the Spokane River.
I have a bunch of thoughts about growing older,
about the transition from full time employment to full time retirement
I am opinionated but consider myself thoughtful and somewhat prepared to discuss my views … which tend to be direct, blunt and at times downright rude.
I try to be tactful but do not always succeed. There are multiple points of view and mine is not the most perfect … but then neither is yours.
I’ve been called among – among other things – a curmudgeon.
I acknowledge having earned that label. I for years wrote mostly about politics and religion. I may still do so.
But now I have opinions about the agony and ecstasy of aging … both gracefully and clumsily.
I was born in 1946 and raised in a Mormon community in Southeastern Idaho.
I left home at age 19 to be a Spanish-speaking Mormon missionary in Texas and New Mexico.
In 1968 after the missionary work I moved to Texas.
After a year I enlisted in the USAF
I served six years active duty and two years in the Reserve. I served as a Russian linguist.
Upon receiving an honorable discharge in 1975 I moved my family to Texas.
In Texas I sold insurance, furniture and eventually temporary labor.
In 1979 I moved my family to Portland in the Great Northwest.
I eventually became a professional dispatcher for an assortment of trucking companies.
After being caught in layoffs several times, I left trucking and in 1987 became a Prudential Insurance Agent for three years.
I then went into business for myself as a contract interpreter offering services in Spanish and Russian. I ultimately accepted a position as a tri-lingual case worker for the State of Washington and never changed jobs again.
I retired in 2011.
I have lived in Idaho, Texas, New York state, Japan, Okinawa, California, Maryland, Nebraska, Oregon and Washington state.
I am happily married 24 years to one of the few persons who can both manage and tolerate my curmudgeon-ness. I am also the father of five, step-father of three and grandfather to 20+ grandchildren.
I … I … I … I …
Am I the only person I want to talk about?
We’ll see.
Available at Amazon and Lulu Publishing
Arthur Ruger was born and raised in one of those old fashioned rural communities in the mountains of the Great Basin of the American West.
After leaving home at age 19 to do missionarying in Texas and New Mexico for the Mormons, young Arthur never returned to those rural roots in Idaho, opting instead for experiences beyond the shadow of the everlasting hills where young impressionable future authors might find things and topics they might otherwise have never encountered.
Arthur is by profession an about-to-retire social worker, married to a live wire, the father of 8 children and well on the way toward 20 grandchildren.
And Should We Die is Arthur’s first novel, an anthem to that powerful cultural heritage from which his heart and mind found their strength and creativity.
Regarding the his love of writing and publishing, Arthur says,
“If you yearn to write, quit stalling and dare it.
Compose your stories and write write write.
The writing will get better the more you do it.
At some point it will be hard to resist the urge to publish.
An internet blog may be your best opportunity to hone your skills at writing, editing and publishing your own opinions and stories.
To get to your book sitting on your coffee table nowadays, there are many ways to publish that don’t involve waiting for editors and publishers to read your manuscript and send the accept or reject notices.
When you are ready, just do it!”
Curmudgeon at Work 