Frog Hospital - Paperback

by Fred Owens (Author)

Frog Hospital is a story about LaConner, a small town at the mouth of the Skagit River, where it flows into Puget Sound. In LaConner, there was once a grocery store in a quonset hut, run by Mr. Grobschmidt. Clyde, an old drunk who lived out on the river, thought that Mr. Grobschmidt looked like a frog, so he took to calling the store the "Frog Hospital." That became a local joke. Now the quonset hut, Mr. Grobschmidt, and Clyde are all gone, but that's how I came up with the name. Frog Hospital begins in LaConner and leads out to America and the places I've seen in the past ten years. Then it comes back home. That's the theme of the book, coming home. You will find it easy to read and very likeable.

Author Biography

Fred Owens is a journalist in LaConner, a small town at the mouth of the Skagit River, where it flows into Puget Sound. He loves the Skagit Valley, but it has never been easy for him to make a living here. Beside journalism, Owens has worked as a farm hand, landscaper and nursing aide. His restless and curious nature has inspired many journeys. "I have mixed feelings about this country life. I get bored talking to cows, and then I know it's time to hit the road," Owens said. Everything changes. "I grew up in the Midwest, and it was so awfully flat. I came out here because I loved to see mountains and rushing water. But now I'm old, and the mountains just disturb me. I might be better living someplace with gentle hills," he said. Or he just needs to take another trip.