THE LAKE EFFECT IBD

Sinopsis

Terry and Bill Monnie share a common birthplace, but they have separate stories to tell. While journeying separate ways, they never truly grew apart, even in the midst of the adversity that life presents each during a period of major cultural change and unrest in the United States and the world. Their stories reflect the core values of the Monnie/Diehl family and the lake that spawned them, core values that are immutable and which these two brothers have honored throughout their lives. Terry takes the traditional route of consistently honoring the core values of the Monnie/Diehl family and the Lake: college and serving honorably in the Viet Nam Conflict. Bill, however, take a different route, which family and many others from Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, consider divergent from core values: immersion into the leftist politics of the 1960's and the Civil Rights Movement. How does this story end? Truly it is determined by The Lake Effect. 'The Lake Effect is a riveting glimpse of Americana through the eyes of two brothers, Terry and Bill Monnie. As their relationship develops, you experience first-hand how disparate aspects of 20th Century life build an emerging nation - and more importantly, a family dynamic. Their path isn't always neat and concise, but in the end, isn't that what family is all about?' -Dean Congbalay, Vice President, Development , Comey and Shepherd, Realtors Cincinnati, Ohio 'Traveling with Bill and Terry on their journey from growing up in a small town in rural Pennsylvania to adulthood is both nostalgic and thought provoking. Their adventures and misadventures evoke long forgotten memories of struggles for self identity and casts light on the turbulent times of the sixties. With Bill, there is no timid testing the waters with one toe. He jumps into the Civil Rights Movement head first, waving his convictions and emotions like a banner. Terry takes life as it comes, meeting each new challenge as it arises, anticipating with relish the next great surprise that lies in store for him. Terry and Bill face real life threats with courage and conviction while experiencing the hatred, bigotry, and violence of two very different wars. Whether traveling with Bill in his old '54 Ford to the Deep South to register voters, driving with his friends to the 1965 Selma, Alabama March, trekking with Terry through Germany, exploring cultures outside small-town USA, or riding with him on the bus to experience the horrors of the Vietnam 'War' after his plane landed in Saigon, it is one fascinating adventure. What Bill and Terry discover and share with us, is that in the end, what really matters in life is love - love of family, friends, and country - love of all humankind. Ultimately, we are all on the same bus.' -Jan Williams, Conneaut Lake Area High School-Class of 1961