Astronomy and some religions believe that life is a series of cycles. That is certainly reflected in the tale of Al's long, adventurous life; the cycle spun him in many different directions over the years.

Twelve Years down the Road shares a collection of stories and events detailing the diversity of Al's unique life. From early childhood, he lived with his parents and two brothers in the woods of East Texas on a family farm surrounded by a national forest with a wildlife management area across the road. These stories reveal how he met the love of his life, Betty; what he learned by delivering the Dallas Morning News; how he fared at his first job in the Mississippi Delta in the middle of KKK country; how he perceived his work at a Texas prison; and how he came to work in Siberia for a pipeline company.

As Al reflects on the cycles his longand varied life, he shares the stories that shape a person and make a man a man.