Book Description
This is a novel about the general state of politics in America in the not-too-distant future. The Republicans are in power and the Democrats and mainstream media will not accept that. They are obsessed with putting the Democrats in power. They want to impeach the Republican president, not because he's done something wrong, but because they don't like him and he's a conservative. They want to turn the country into a "gender fluid" society, even though God's law forbids this (Leviticus 18:22). If you believe in enforcing immigration laws, they call you a racist.Meanwhile, Chad Anderwahl owns a hardware store in Checkeredville, Iowa. He takes on the responsibility of coaching a group of high school musicians from his church to compete for $500,000 in prize money in a nationwide contest to determine the best youth music group in America. The kids call themselves Checkered Pasts. The kids want to give the prize money to the Jesup Cancer Center, which provides free care for cancer patients. To accomplish this they must win the local, state, and regional contests, and then place first, second, or third in the national contest, which will be shown on cable TV. Chad is impressed with the group's talent and thinks they have a chance to succeed. However, their conservative message of obedience to the Lord's commandments, in the songs they write, makes them a target of hatred and violence for some. Chad has also volunteered to teach a junior high Sunday school class, and is often at a loss for how his students answer the questions posed after reading the weekly lessons. In addition to this, he regularly visits three church seniors with varied personalities. One of them, Gina Sadly, is particularly interesting because of her coin collection and the large, old house she lives in. She inspires Chad to add coins to his own collection. Chad also volunteers to do maintenance work around his church and puts on music programs at old folks' homes.Chad likes to visit his elderly parents an hour away in Strawberry Junction, though they tire of Frank and Iris Spudnig constantly joining them in the cafeteria at dinnertime and haranguing them about how evil Republicans are. Chad and his brother Enos, a banker who lives two hours away, also get together frequently.Checkeredville is the home of Checkeredville College, who like many colleges around the country, love to demonstrate against the president. Frequently these demonstrations grow violent, and on more than one occasion, they damage Chad's store, and even attack the people inside. Of the three other tenants in the apartment house where Chad lives, two are liberal activists, college professors, who dislike Chad and cause him trouble.Chad keeps himself busy with other activities, such as visiting his favorite vacation spot on a Minnesota lake with other family members, participating in a Bible study group and a political action committee, and posting on Facebook. He also posts on a Christian forum and sometimes is dismayed how argumentative they seem to be.Maybe one of the most enjoyable of Chad's activities is hanging out with his second-in-command at the store, Hattie McRalston. They like to rib each other, and it is Chad's wish that she take over the store when he retires, which he will soon do. And it's always fun to wait on the customers and solve their hardware needs. Certainly Chad chose the right line of business.
