Damaged Right Out of the Box

It started at birth when a doctor left an indentation on Alan Felyk's forehead with his forceps. Yes, Damaged Right Out Of The Box . . . It was the beginning of an ordinary life that was often blended with the improbable. The result is a sometimes hilarious, sometimes wistful personal experiences book that discusses survival despite asbestos, radioactive particles, talcum powder bombs, a butt-crack abscess, quadruple coronary bypass surgery, and women . . . not necessarily in that order of importance.Jobs such as a groundskeeper, ditch digger, road crew member, waiter, surveyor, houseboy, and taxi driver provided a perfect background for his career in journalism. As a writer/editor, he left Walter Cronkite on hold, covered a vice presidential speech while stoned, and helped get Clive Cussler fired. He has found "love" on the floor of a grade-school coat closet, in the bushes of a college dormitory, and draped over a toilet seat. And somewhere among the distant stars his name could still be aboard an ill-fated spacecraft that may have sailed past Mars.Don't leave hot coffee on the dashboard for this one-Felyk's book is a rapid stop-and-go ride that spans more than six decades of laughs, misadventures, and bittersweetness.