Glenn Powell’s first book, “My Last Baggage Call Aboard Air Force One,” is a memoir, a book of inspiration. It’s a book that shares struggles, and how one can overcome those struggles. It details one young man’s belief in himself, and his belief in the goodness of humankind.
Sergeant First Class Glenn W. Powell’s amazing journey has been one of sacrifices, service, and life-changing miracles. This beloved son of Toledo, Ohio envisioned his future, then set about to make it a reality. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined his life would end up as it did; serving not one, but three Presidents of the United States, meeting global leaders as he traveled around the world.
“My Last Baggage Call Aboard Air Force One,” is Powell’s story about the childhood he left behind in Toledo, Ohio, and the new world he found as a young soldier in the U.S. Army, and finally his years in service to his country at the most important address in the world, the White House. His story is about his journey, and the unforgettable men and women he met along the way; how their lives impacted his journey. About the friendships that were forged and cemented for life.
It was the middle of the civil rights era; the mid-60’s when Margaret Powell gave birth to her last child, a beautiful son with a smile that melted his mother’s heart. Glenn W. Powell grew up on Toledo’s Northside. He poignantly recalls the Dorr Street of his childhood. The place where, in spite of the racial and social turmoil of that time, he was buffeted by the cocoon that was his village – his parents, grandparents, cousins, two sisters, and one brother, and so many others who simply cared. Everyone, it seemed, doted on the small boy with the big smile.
Glenn remembers a happy childhood. His siblings still amazed that he was blessed with the unlikely privilege of a nanny and housekeeper who cooked his favorite meals and doted on him, as most grownups did.
Glenn’s childhood, however, was a nonconventional one; not a typical Beaver Cleaver existence. He unabashedly recalls the untraditional father-son role with his father, a doting father who lived across town, yet remained a constant in his four children’s lives. He shares with deepest emotion, the mother who worked so hard to care for him and his four siblings. A working mother, Margaret Powell spent most of her waking hours at Toledo’s Kroger Store. Her hard work and dedication paid off when she broke the store’s racial barriers, becoming its first African American manager.
These images were also lessons for life that would remain with Glenn. Lessons like the power of dreams, of keeping one’s word, and the rewards of hard work and focus. The teenage Glenn Powell, though, was restless, always seeking more than what was in front of him. He surprised family and friends when he skipped his high school graduation and dunned a military uniform – in search of “something.” He was convinced that becoming a soldier could lead to that something. And, he was right. The teenage boy took his life in his hands, transporting himself from the pampered “baby” of the family to a much-admired leader.
Purchase My Last Baggage Call Aboard Air Force One: A Journey of Sacrifice, Service, Family, and Friendship by Glenn W. Powell at these retailers.
Amazon | Kindle | B&N
Glenn W. Powell was featured in the National Geographic
Inside American Power: Air Force One Documentary on DVD
This feature from National Geographic will take you deep inside the president’s personal airplane, Air Force One. Reigning as the only superpower in a post-Cold War world, the United States has managed to run its government with a veiled secrecy that extends even to the press briefings and State of the Union addresses.
Rent the DVD today, click here.
Delivered to you with free shipping!
Genres: Military Documentaries, Political Documentaries, National Geographic.