“The Road Ahead” comprises the poems Mark Decker wrote in the years 1982 & 1983. These began some of the happiest years of his life, after a tumultuous decade of the 70’s. The 70’s were a time of graduating from college, moving to Washington, working in the White House, trying to establish a career, law school, Watergate, learning how to manage/juggle career and family. In the early 80’s, we find him happily married to his bride Molly, with two children - Mark (7) and Susan (1.5). Included...

An Eagle Soars When I was young, a boy, in elementary and high school, I had broad wings; I flew like a hawk; High and graceful, gliding, riding all the thermals. I had domain over my territory. Then, came college, I was lost; A round peg in a square hole. Somehow, my wings were clipped; I mostly wandered, like Siddhartha, aimlessly For sixty months; I did not fly; I mostly crawled. Then, I met the love of my life, who told me I could fly; That she had watched me fly, and it was a beautifu...

Volume 2, containing poems from 1973, 1974, and 1975, is the second in a series of poetry books Mark Decker is publishing about the evolution of the love story that he and Molly share. There is some overlap with volume 1 in chronology. I was prolific in 1973 and 1974, said Mark. This volume contains some of the poems I like from that chapter of our story. Mark is already at work organizing and editing his next collection for volume 3, which will comprise additional poems from 1975 and incl...

“Country Boy Rides Again” is a continuation of poems in “Country Boy” published in March, 2018. “Country Boy” presented the author’s poems written in 1977. “Country Boy Rides Again” are the author’s poems penned in the years, 1978 - 1981. The author’s primary goal, upon retiring from the day-to-day working world in 2016, was to organize and self-publish his fifty years of written poetry for twelve people. His wife: Molly; his children: Mark, Jr., Susan and Kelly; and: his eight grandchildr...

My Family 6-6-1990 There is exulted exhilaration, Such as the U.S. Olympic hockey team, Winning the 1980 gold medal; or, Jack Nicklaus winning the Masters in 1986. Then, there’s the higher plane of existence; Molly; Mark; Susan; Kelly; Where our family resides. Our marriage is there, too; and, So, too, our friends. Life lived, and experienced, In a sustained state of near perfection; In its essence. Life is a gift, to every humble soul; A blessing, beyond words; Beyond emotions; More myste...

Country Boy captures the breadth and depth of life in the political world of Washington, DC, with his soul mate, Molly; a father helping to raise a young son; observing human nature at home and at work through the eyes of a simple country boy who found, in joy and sorrow, that he had a gift for writing. His poems express the joys, concerns, hopes and dreams of life as it is lived day-to-day. His words are as powerful and relevant today as when they were written in 1977. As one of Mark’s fr...

This book is a collection of poems written by the author.

Volume 3, containing poems from 1975 and 1976, is the third in a series of poetry books Mark Decker is publishing about the evolution of the love story that he and Molly share. The years the poems in Volume 3 were written, 1975-1976, were very interesting, exciting years for Molly and me. We had our first child, Mark, Jr; and, I got into law school. President Fords staff asked me to be a law clerk in the Office of Counsel to the President while attending law school. So, in addition to cont...

Can blockbuster films be socially relevant or are they just escapist diversions to entertain the masses and enrich the studios? Not every successful film contains thoughtful commentary, but some that are marketed as pure entertainment do seriously engage social issues. Popular science fiction films of the late 1970s and early 1980s--such as George Lucas' Star Wars trilogy, Ridley Scott's Alien and Aliens, and James Cameron's Terminator films--present a c...

Tomorrow Is Always WednesdayBy: Brian F. Decker with Lt. Col Mark Halferty (USMC) and Major Gregory Estvander (USMC)Tomorrow Is Always Wednesday is a love story that combines the hardships of war and what men and women on both sides had to endure, either in combat or while waiting on the sidelines. Follow a group of friends just trying to survive the war, a young man trying to return to his family in Japan, and a young woman trying to discover her grandfather’s legacy. This ...

In Rethinking American Music, Tara Browner and Thomas L. Riis curate essays that offer an eclectic survey of current music scholarship. Ranging from Tin Pan Alley to Thelonious Monk to hip hop, the contributors go beyond repertory and biography to explore four critical yet overlooked areas: the impact of performance; patronage's role in creating music and finding a place to play it; personal identity; and the ways cultural and ethnographic circumstances determine the music that emerges fro...

For those who have discovered life, in illness, difficulty and despair, I wish that on your wings you'll fly, to diamonds, stars and dizzying flare. -- Ekaterina D. Bojilova.