Being laid up with the crude for over a week has given me a chance to do some in-depth reading and calculating. Im just not wired to sit, but I have not felt like doing anything but whining. Mostly to the walls! While in bed, I saw books on shelves that needed to be wiped off, one by one. Curtains that should be shaken out to throw off the dust, blinds holding a buildup of dust from last spring, and the overhead light fixture dimmed by grime. I calculated how much dust was on the TV screen, gathered from the sunlight, and streaks on the mirror over the dresser that needed some Windex. I never noticed when I was well.

To rid myself of those thoughts, I ambled to the den. Given ample time, I could have calculated problems there but picked up a book instead. My first reading was a new work by local attorney Jim Howard entitled the Miracle of Man, a fascinating account of mans relationship with God and various beliefs of today. He will be a guest on Susan and Carol-Unscripted Tuesday, March 7 and have a book signing that same week. As I was reading, I was taken back to my college American Literature classes where varying beliefs from Pantheism to Puritanism existed. This is not a fluff book.

When I finished Jims work, I downloaded, The Cornbread Mafia A Memoir of Sorts (2016) by Joe Keith Bickett, released from federal prison in 2011 for his marijuana involvement in Marion County and surrounding counties. In this book, he tells of the Raywick of his youth and fascinating stories of raising acres of pot, out-running (or outsmarting as he might say) the law, but finally getting caught.

James Higdon actually wrote the first book about the group in Marion County, The Cornbread Mafia (2013). (Higdon has worked for the Louisville Courier-Journal, the New York Times and other publications.) This book focuses on the most notable member of the Mafia, Johnny Boone, called by some the ringleader. He fled after being arrested twice and facing a life sentence if caught. He lived in Canada until he was recently detained. The famous slogan, Run, Johnny, Run was the source of T-shirts and recordings and was a subject of Americas Most Wanted.

Sally Bentons The Bluegrass Conspiracy first (to me) exposed drug rings in Kentucky. Remember hearing about the guy who parachuted to his death carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and 150 pounds of cocaine? All of these are available on Amazon or in bookstores.

Back in the '80s, I had a homeroom with just a few students until the trade school buses arrived. During this time, students often engaged me in their conversations. One time a boy said, Miss Perkins, I can take you to a marijuana farm that has an iron, padlocked gate and guard dogs. I stopped him. At the time, I thought he was exaggerating, but he actually could have probably taken me there.

Somewhere in the middle of a corn patch or a tobacco crop may be rows of marijuana right under our noses. Every time I hear a helicopter overhead, I think of the Cornbread Mafia. Put these four books on your reading list, and you wont be sorry.

Read more:

4 books tell stories of Ky. drug world - Glasgow Daily Times