Love and Promise

Love and Promise is a story played out against the backdrop of a rural Upstate

New York community where the grandson of Lebanese and Italian immigrants endeavors

to overcome prejudice. A farm boy struggles to be accepted for his accomplishments

rather than his ethnicity and lineage.


James Rahin, tired of living the life of a dirt-poor farmer, dreamt of the good life.

He wanted a nice house, a new car, and clothes that were not hand-me-downs. He

observed that the glaring differences between his poor friends and relatives, and those

who had the things he craved to have, was wealth. People with money either own a

successful business or they were educated professionals. In his junior year of high school

Jim became obsessed with the idea of attending college. His goal was to attend college

and law school.
Jim's attitude about life and women hardens when his older brother married an

attractive blond. Jim saw the responsibilities of marriage forever alter Joe's priorities.

Attending college could no longer be one of his brother's goals. Jim vowed that he

would never allow anything or anyone to deter him from his dream.


In high school Jim met Laura, a winsome girl who introduced him to a woman's

warmth and passion. She tried to possess him with her body, but her carnal pleasures

were not enough to sway him from his self-promise. Connie broke Jim's heart and set

him on a path of distrust. Women were only visitors to his affection. He took what was

offered but avoided the pitfalls of love.



Through personal loss, an enlistment in the Marines, and bigotry at home and

away- Jim stayed true to his promise. Then he met Hope. She made his blood boil.
Her love would become the center piece of his greatest challenge.