Grass Wars
by M.J.Politis

        Photo Unavailable

‘Old Man Dan’ was a decorated Korean War veteran way back in the 1950s, then moved to the booming working-man’s-Paradise of Huntingshire, Long Island, then the ‘woods’ where a man could commune with Nature and become the rugged individualist that he wanted to be. A well-liked and highly-skilled and eccentric handyman, Dan broke no laws for forty years, at least outside the walls of his own house, a dwelling now in a ‘living beautification’ zone, on a plot of land that someone very powerful wants, at any price, or will obtain by any means.

It all starts with McBride, a washed-out, embittered, politician who is demoted to “Quality of Life” ordinance inspector, a job he takes quite seriously. As seriously as Dan takes the right to let the grass on his lawn, which he owns, to grow a millimeter, inch or even a foot taller than City Council bylaws dictate as legal. The public arrest and the consequences bring in Dan’s loyal stay-at-home attorney daughter, his estranged daughter and son-turned-daughter and unfinished issues about his departed wife. From the outside, powerful friends and enemies in the War to decide if Old Man Dan gets to keep his house, or gets put into a mental institution for the rest of his life. The fate of Dan’s family and the town depend on the outcome.

Comment: A ‘small’ novel in terms of setting, taking place in ‘normal’ suburban locations, but with secrets held by all. Some gender-bending aspects to plot line and characters inserted to add spice to the sauce. Specific demographics not yet thoroughly researched.