| STORY DESCRIPTION In 1971 there were only three ways out of the soul-crushing, abject poverty of the Jersey City shithole of a slum they called the Duncan Avenue Federal Housing Project; prison, the military or the likely end to both ??" death.
In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Chance had a dream: to become a doctor.
All he'd have to do is finish high school, (something no one else in his family had ever done before), find a shit load of money, (something else no one else in his family had ever done), and get accepted to college, something no one . . . well you get the idea. After that of course he'd have to find a shit load more money, get accepted to med school and graduate.
Fortunately there was an answer to all his problems; sign up to be a Navy corpsman and volunteer for LBJ's little party down in the South Pacific called the Viet Nam War.
Politically Erect is a novel dealing with the lighter side of mutilation, death, genocide, widespread political corruption, international conflict and potential global destruction. It's a fiction based on actual experiences with fictionally informed political leaders who were artificially qualified to wage real war and features actual dead people.
You know, a comedy.
You can't fool all the people all of the time.
But if you do, it usually only lasts for four years.
Keywords related to this title - click on a keyword to find more, related stories USA Humour Humor politics comedy satire Author information: Paddy Kelly, Dublin
Paddy Kelly immigrated to New York City in 1966 where he worked a number of jobs, finished secondary school and in 1971 attended the City University of New York on an athletic scholarship for gymnastics. It was here that he was first introduced to theatre and first became interested in writing.
In 1972 he was employed to coach the Icelandic National Olympic team, a post held for two years.
While in Reykjavik, Iceland he helped in the rescue efforts of Vestmannaeyiar Island following the eruption of the Heimaey volcano.
In 1973 he became a Hospital Corpsman in the U. S. Navy and, in 1975, assisted in the evacuation of Saigon and the resettlement of tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees to Westminster, Orange County where he was first exposed to the world of film making, and later worked as a set carpenter.
Following naval service in 1976 Mr. Kelly returned to City University New York earning a B. A. While at C.U.N.Y. he became involved in drama and subsequently acted in over a dozen plays in and around the New York area, again gaining work as a set carpenter and sign writer on films.
Upon returning to California in 1982 Paddy further developed his interest in writing when he found employment as a script editor.
It was during this period that Mr. Kelly wrote his first novel, Politically Erect, (unpublished), a satire of the last days of the war in Viet Nam and the fall of Saigon. Mr. Kelly returned to the East coast and worked his way through graduate school earning his M.Ed. at Boston. He began writing plays and moved into writing and directing full time, focusing on farce, satirical and political comedy.
Mr. Kelly has to date directed two dozen professional theatrical productions, written half a dozen feature film scripts and is a regular contributor to various film industry publications.
He has just finished his third novel, The American Way.
In the course of his career Mr. Kelly has also written and directed a cookery television programme and teaches cookery classes as an aid to reducing stress in your life.
Visit the author website at:http://www.paddykellywriter.com
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