When a faded picture from a by-gone era sets in motion a perilous quest for five young men, they not only encounter harrowing danger in the forbidden, historical laden Niagara Gorge, but are forced to confront the swirling illusions of the world they knew changing their lives forever. ;The day we decided to go down into the gorge of Niagara Fallsto walk on the ice bridgehad started out normal enough but quickly showed itself as anything but normal ; Living in the City of Niagara Falls in the early 1960s, winters were simple for teenagers - like snowball fights and warm-ups at Ol Gordys general store, arguing about his wall of pictures.
Its become a ritualsipping Cokes while studying the old photographs listening to Ol Gordys tales of adventure from long ago. ;Ol Gordy was obsessed with Niagara and talked about it with anyone who would listenand with those who wouldnt, too.
He knew everything there was to know about the Falls, especially from back in those old days, and he steered every discussion back to the times represented by those old dusty pictures. ; An ice ball to Kevins face, coupled with one picture in particular, sets them off on a journey to stand on the ice bridge of Niagara Falls, despite or perhaps because of Ol Gordy warnings that its not only extremely dangerous but against the law.
The 'ice-bridge' of Niagara Falls steeped in history - fraught with tragedy - challenged by daredevils, bootleggers and tourists alike, lures them from the world they know down into the mysterious Niagara Gorge in the dead of winter.
As in a time machine, they enter an exhilarating world of massive ice sculptors, impassable rapids and unassailable walls of ice.
After a face-to-face encounter with the mighty Niagara Falls itself, from the bottom up, they find themselves in a rush to avoid being rescued while facing a series of life and death struggles with a Niagara they never knew existed.
Peeling back time, we meet the hermit who lived on the Falls and who achieved his quest - to become one with it; we experience the day the Falls stopped and explore a riverbed never before exposed to human footprints until the water returns in a frenzy; through the eyes of a runaway girl we witness the cruelty of slavery as she rides the Underground Railroad with her mammy and pappy - paying the fare to ride that train to freedom and we feel the deception and hatred clashing between cultures when the path of a British drummer boy converges with that of an Iroquois brave at the Devils Hole massacre on the top of the escarpment.
Bridges is much more than a simple tale of camaraderie and teenage exploits.
Author d k LeVick creates a fascinating and engaging tale that is rich in both historical fact and ingenious fiction, as he weaves stories of long-ago, bringing together a series of unique historical events in a twist of mystery and revelation with the group of 1962 teenagers caught up in the complexities of a changing world around them.
LeVicks narrative is so evocative that you will feel youre along on the various expeditions; his attention to detail is so precise that you might just hear the ice crack and feel a tremor beneath your feet.
Bridges takes you on a kaleidoscope journey of adventure and history exploring the questions confronting people of all ages through all times.
