The Cross and the Switchblade

Today I finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.  I'm pleased I didn't go see the movie before finishing the book. It would have ruined the experience I think.  Now I can freely watch the movie and make my comparisons.

My next book of choice is called The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson.  It's a true story about David Wilkerson, a country preacher, who goes to New York on God's calling.  He founded Teen Challenge, an inner- city ministry that today maintains residential and crisis counseling centers around the globe.

I chose this book because I was given a copy while attending grade school at Porter Elementary.  I lost the book before I could read it and even watched the film in Porter's gym.  Now, years later,  I find a fresh copy in my possession and look forward to reading about David's journey.   Here's an excerpt from pgs. 11 and 12.  The following may not be for all readers so proceed with caution.

"What's the matter with me!" I said aloud, impatiently brushing away a tear. I looked at the picture more carefully.  The boys were all teenagers. They were members of a gang called the Dragons.  Beneath their picture was the story of how they had gone into Highbridge Park in New York and brutally attacked and killed a fifteen-year-old polio victim named Michael Farmer.  The seven boys stabbed Michael in the back seven times with their knives, then beat him over the head with garrison belts.  They went away wiping blood through their hair, saying, "We messed him good."