TITLE: AMBITION IN THE EYES OF A CHILD
ITEM NUMBER: ISBN: 978-1-4343-8544-4

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PAPERBACK PRICE: $12.00

AUTHOR: Claude E. Thornton
GENRE: Autobiography
DESCRIPTION
The book's strength lies in Claude Thornton's unique ability to get outside of the margins as he faced changes in his life and go swimming in shark infested waters, even though he could not swim, he learned to! The insecure situations he found himself in necessitated an investment in change. The best way for Claude to do that was to invest in life itself. When you are changing all the time as Claude was, during his trials and tribulations, it is necessary to continue to keep adjusting to change. This means that you are going to be constantly facing new conflicts in your life; if there is any joy in living it is in accepting ones trials and tribulations. Once you are involved in the process of becoming, as was the Author in this book, there is no stopping or turning back. You are in for an extended journey, but what a fantastic journey life had in store. Claudes' story is a story of self empowerment, a story of succeeding against the odds, it is a story for todays youth.

The message Claude transmit through this book is that his trials and tribulations are the reasons God placed his hands on his life, which gave him the inner strength and motivation necessary to allow God to accomplish his purpose for him in life. He succeeded because he accepted the tribulations in his life and God's counsel as a gift. Claude is saying it is because he embraced his experiences that God's hand stayed on his life, and he was endlessly covered by God's Grace, as he continued to live by faith.

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Chapter 5

The UAW's Culture

Open House with a Gunman on Site

During the times when there was no elections scheduled, my time was regularly devoted to settling union affairs and other company and union business, which kept me busy. One of the more memorable events that kept me busy was the Bi-annual General Motors' open house held in the plant; employees and their families were allowed to visit and view the products being made. Among the products viewed was a newly built automobile that set on a stage in the Quality Control area. On one such occasion I was escorting my family through the plant when I received a message to report to the Labor Relations Department; upon arriving I was taken into an office and told that a gunman was holding a hostage in the Paint Department. The gunman's name was Coleiron, he was involved with a female employee named Nelly Day, nickname'Nelly Lay'. She had a reputation of sleeping around; they both worked in Department 25 'Chassis' on the line.

Coleiron, had served in the Vietnam War, and was hooked on alcohol and drugs; he had spent a consideralbe time in the joint company and union employee's assistance program. Coleiron and Nelly were engaged to be married and had established a joint checking and a saving account. It was rumored throughout the plant that Nelly was having a affair with a General Foreman. When Coleiron learned about the affair, he went to his bank to discover all the money was withdrawn from both accounts. He showed up at the open house with a gun, and came into the plant with the intentions of shooting the General Foreman that was involved in the affair, but he was not at work. He took Ben Staspanski, as a hostage instead and went upstairs to the Paint Department into a paint booth. The company had to shut the line down because a gunshot in the Paint Department (paint Booth) could have very dire consequences. The police and a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team had been called to the plant; Coleiron asked for a television reporter to tell his story. Ben Staspanski had been forced down on his knees, while Coleiron made a request for chewing tobacco (Redman's tobacoo); tobacoo was thrown into the paint booth short of where Coleiron was hiding behind a car.

When Coleiron stepped out to reach for the tobacco,............