BOOK REVIEW : Always Moving Forward Author : David A . Jones with Bob Hill Old Stone Press ( 2023 )
by ELIZABETH A . AMIN , MD
In his concise foreword to this memoir , co-author Bob Hill , retired newspaper columnist and features writer for the Louisville Times and Courier Journal , explains his relationship with David Jones and the book they created together . Mr . Jones had an unparalleled memory for detail – starting with recollections from age 4 . His assignment for Mr . Hill was , “ Interview about 20 of David ’ s old friends , colleagues and family members .” That number grew to 40 or more . David insisted that they had all contributed to his success and the book “ had to be about them too .”
As I read this book , I began to visualize a tapestry of words , people and events taking shape . Guiding principles in the life of David Jones are the strong warp threads of this tapestry , taut and anchored in place through almost nine decades . He identifies these as :
a ) Priority of family , family history and family values . b ) Education in its broadest sense . c ) A work ethic learned as a child during the Great Depression . d ) The seizing of opportunity wherever it lay . e ) Creation of friendships and networking over a lifetime . f ) Delegation of tasks . g ) Taking charge when necessary . h ) Giving back .
The pattern emerges as details in earlier chapters frequently reappear in a different context in later ones . Imagine two weavers seated at a loom : David Jones on the right-hand side threading his stories , like the weft threads on the shuttle which he then sends flying through the warp to Bob Hill on the left side , with Bob perhaps rearranging the threads before sending the shuttle back .
David Allen Jones was born on Aug . 7 , 1931 , to Elsie Thurman and Evan Logan Jones . He was the second oldest of six siblings and was particularly close to his older brother , Logan Jones , Jr .
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