https://www.philiphunsicker.com/author-blog daily 0.75 2021-07-22 https://www.philiphunsicker.com/author-blog/zuplpv2ukx99k2r49p4mf9vljgh1of-w6969 monthly 0.5 2021-07-22 https://www.philiphunsicker.com/author-blog/two-too-good monthly 0.5 2021-04-09 https://www.philiphunsicker.com/author-blog/zuplpv2ukx99k2r49p4mf9vljgh1of-n43n3 monthly 0.5 2021-03-27 https://www.philiphunsicker.com/author-blog/zuplpv2ukx99k2r49p4mf9vljgh1of monthly 0.5 2021-03-27 https://www.philiphunsicker.com/about-africa daily 0.75 2021-05-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/e50b6c4b-7049-401a-bded-cb06c6dc784f/Phil+with+Extension+Agents.jpg About Africa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/2eda81b3-8b26-4145-a430-4d11448d1ccf/Elephant.jpg About Africa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/79ed2097-8081-4fff-8c1b-0d8838a05da3/00024_s_r20atmcmpkx0024.jpg About Africa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/0fbb4a99-73e1-442b-980f-a84ffde59591/Crock1.jpg About Africa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/d10e537e-023e-4ec7-acea-563d73c2b34c/00037_s_r20atmcmpkx0037.jpg About Africa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/4296303c-a60e-4513-b3bc-49212e703869/Elephant4.jpg About Africa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/ee7461b7-6f7b-4a87-a4db-183d331bd4c4/Phil+and+Josh.jpg About Africa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/91f771f5-3bed-42a8-9c6a-a39fef01bec7/JoshFrontierAir.jpg About Africa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1616694455983-61MN9IMHD6234L4LR9QA/Central+Africa+Map.jpg About Africa Whenever I tell people that I worked in the Central African Republic (C.A.R.), they often respond, “Cool, but what country did you work in?” The place is a mystery to most Americans. If someone was inspired to do some research on the C.A.R., they would soon discover that it’s tough to find something complimentary written about the place. There is never a shortage of bad news. For example, according to the C.A.R.’s Wikipedia page, it is “among the ten poorest countries in the world.” As of 2019, according to the Human Development Index (HDI), “the country had the second lowest level of human development (only behind Niger) ranking 188th out of 189 countries, and the country had the lowest inequality-adjusted HDI, ranking 150th out of 150 countries.” I’m not exactly sure what that statistic means, but generally, 150th out of 150 is never a good thing. I also saw a statistic that the C.A.R. is estimated to be “the unhealthiest country as well as the worst country in which to be young.” In 2009, World Bank Group’s report, Doing Business, ranked the C.A.R. 183rd of 183 as regards “ease of doing business,” a composite index, which takes into account regulations that enhance business activity and those that restrict it. Sounds like the experts agree that it’s a tough place to be a human, a young human, and a businessman or businesswoman. If that weren’t enough, the Central African Republic has been in a lingering and extremely violent civil war since 2004. The war has pitted neighboring Christians against Muslims and has perpetuated the country’s poor human rights record, characterized by widespread and increasing abuses by various participating armed groups, such as arbitrary imprisonment, torture, murder of innocents, and restrictions on freedom of the press and freedom of movement. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1617170294286-7BZZMFU258QNWSNEJ5CR/Photo+B.jpg About Africa Yes, Central Africans are poor, their rulers are not, and trying to get business done in the C.A.R., even during peaceful times, is like trying to teach your cat how to make profitable investments in the stock market. That said, I would rate the Central African Republic as #1 in places to go to as a Peace Corps volunteer, especially if you are looking for a challenge that will test your limited skills, your patience, your digestive system, your immune system, and your ability to laugh instead of cry when nothing goes your way. I still look back fondly on my years spent there. I was sent there to teach Central Africans how to raise fish in ponds, and later, how to protect elephants, gorillas and the Central African rain forest. https://www.philiphunsicker.com/home daily 1.0 2022-02-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1618018728303-PU4278M9RY0BHB7WGQ33/Front_cover_only_copy-removebg-preview.png Home https://www.philiphunsicker.com/about-alaska daily 0.75 2021-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/3c82dc92-34a4-40f3-b7d5-20068bc8edf2/00007_s_r20atmcmpkx0007.jpg About Alaska https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/f607ae49-b595-46ff-ad35-61e737f0b45d/00013_s_r20atmcmpkx0013.jpg About Alaska https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/42dbebbc-addb-4e95-9271-85516a8c31e4/00019_s_r20atmcmpkx0019.jpg About Alaska https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/03c4614f-94b1-4b79-991f-478ad7fd2ece/00032_s_r20atmcmpkx0032.jpg About Alaska https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/27c0e0ee-1516-477b-b042-7ac9efbfb0cb/00038_s_r20atmcmpkx0038.jpg About Alaska https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/5510b93b-cb76-493d-ac79-19cf4310f950/00042_s_r20atmcmpkx0042_z.jpg About Alaska https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1616863823072-UTMGVVK5ION065KK4WKU/alaska-marine-highway-inside-passage-map.png About Alaska https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1616127677500-3B2MFURSWYC28MJMKJJR/Phil+at+Baranof+Warm+Springs%2C+Alaska.jpg About Alaska - “North–to Alaska, go north the rush is on.” Songwriter John Denver penned the lyrics, “He was born in the summer of his twenty-seventh year, coming home to a place he’d never been before.” He wrote those words about his relationship with the Rocky Mountains. For me, his words perfectly describe how I felt when I moved to Sitka, Alaska in 1982. I was soon to turn 27, and about to start a summer job with the U.S. Forest Service as a fishery biologist mapping salmon habitat in streams throughout Southeast Alaska. I had dreamed of going to Alaska ever since I was a boy growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania. My boyhood friend, Tom, and I would watch every program on TV about Alaska. We went to the movies to watch documentaries about “The Last Frontier.” We read books about living off the land. We dreamed of days spent in a log cabin in the woods, and all our food would come from what we fished, hunted and trapped. Our only companions would be our dogs. Later, we expanded our invitation list to the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, but we were smart enough to realize they probably wouldn’t join us as their skimpy outfits would be insufficient during the cold Alaskan winters. Yeah, that’s why they wouldn’t join us. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1616128467361-PYP3UKR7T0XI4EY2UXGY/Phil+H+at+Hidden+Falls.jpg About Alaska My seven years in Alaska weren’t what Tom and I had envisioned when we were boys. I don’t think we even realized that a part of Alaska – Southeast – had a moderate coastal climate that wasn’t much different from where we grew up. If we’d known that at the time, our hypothetical invitation to the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders to accompany us might have been taken more seriously. The combination of big ocean, big mountains, big conifers, big bears, big whales, big fish, big crabs, big shrimp (Yeah, that’s a thing), big boats, big northern lights, and big outdoor adventures just felt right to me. It didn’t matter that I was only making a little money and that it rained so much, even ducks were heard to say, “Enough already.”What confirmed my initial impressions that I had found a place where I belonged was that I quickly found friends who had the same childhood dreams of one day moving to Alaska. That’s why in my novel, The Old Crocodile Man Theory, I had my main character, Kael Husker, call Alaska his home by choice. https://www.philiphunsicker.com/author-blog1 daily 0.75 2026-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/883c63f9-8a73-4bc2-a5ad-9b9d379862e6/MikeBWCA.JPG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/077cd652-cb1b-4a4a-be51-2dda04e59c08/yin-yang.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/f4541fae-546b-4dd8-af6e-71aff906b050/shocked+granny-1.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/5832834e-72b9-4ecd-a2f2-fac3e2fa1db6/CAR+Books.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/2125b1d3-2f62-4cee-9bbe-e45081db1db8/JoshSoccer.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/aa00ca71-b3a3-45b6-9fc1-7bbcfa0afb84/Phil%26BodaChatham.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/2e839def-a65d-4c1e-85d1-5edf814d64f1/Phil%27s+photo.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/30088642-9aa4-4968-aad1-c24cd1929d94/Industrial-01.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/b7e6860e-c141-4689-9569-4a19ab32c7fc/Born+Free+Movie+Pic2.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1635437411817-D5L8Z0M6VPXZF3UYB528/beach%2Bbook%2B3.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1626565404299-963TCB0JBG0O90D9NWG9/PhilBookRelease.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1617984308278-7L8D65VTXA9JZXDKKU1J/Guitar.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1616856110380-Y00Z5OAWS7WJG4BC65PL/Dzanga-Sangha+cloth.JPG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1616856512010-RY0O1LUA6AZIRW32KFPY/00019_s_r20atmcmpkx0019.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/790a6f8d-ce03-4c33-b7ea-105fe7f5b184/football.jpg Author Blog https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/0f499ac4-d0dc-4e5c-998e-092e9b2b0e2c/six+words.png Author Blog https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/097196e1-6598-4e0f-ba73-b01da3aec608/LittleFreeLibrary.jpeg Author Blog https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/6a5839d7-7c7d-4931-8cf6-bfcccb7d9ced/AlaskaTexasCompared.jpg Author Blog https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/db5edf66-4b52-4deb-8ecb-55b6b74a5e44/Jacatlibrary.jpeg Author Blog https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/db76c596-08a2-4150-a915-2d422f8c85ae/book-cover-To-Kill-a-Mockingbird-many-1961.jpg Author Blog https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/15f93aed-e0df-4d28-a9ec-73a58e2d5193/Library+book.jpg Author Blog - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.philiphunsicker.com/about-the-author daily 0.75 2021-05-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1617384013030-3BRIX6HJXFINFUKTDLHC/New+Phil.JPG About The Author - Phil’s Story (and He’s Stickin’ to It)! Phil is a writer, musician, and radical environmentalist – the three things his pragmatic high school guidance counselor specifically told him not to pursue. Phil’s writing, whether in a novel, a song, a poem, a children’s book, an article, an opinion piece, or even a professional work product, includes varying degrees of his sense of humor, which he thinks is as important to his survival as coffee spiked with Irish Cream, John Prine songs, a good boat, and his vintage Martin D-28 guitar. At the age of three months, Phil flew to Japan (with some assistance from his mother), and that trip, according to his father, is when Phil caught the travel bug. This desire to see what was over the next hill led to stints as a student of marine biology in Florida, a Peace Corps volunteer in Central Africa, a fishery biologist in Alaska, a grad student in Vermont, a game park director for the World Wildlife Fund in the African rain forest, a ghost writer for Minnesota Public Radio, and more recently, a part-time bluegrass musician and full-time expert on aquatic invasive species (AIS) in Minnesota. Phil and his wife, Denise, live on a quiet lake in Minnesota where he continues to write, play music with his band – Hans Blix and the Weapons Inspectors – and fight the good fight to preserve the natural world. And yes, he still enjoys doing what others tell him he shouldn’t. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1617235672219-QQ84EHHQ8WSQWL2HDB4K/Hansblix2019.jpg About The Author https://www.philiphunsicker.com/the-book daily 0.75 2024-02-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1618018728303-PU4278M9RY0BHB7WGQ33/Front_cover_only_copy-removebg-preview.png The Book - Brainerd Dispatch Theresa Bourke "Not only was the story rock solid, with great writing and some fantastic comedy thrown in, but the twists and turns near the end of the book had me on the edge of my seat and my mouth hanging open. Anyone in need of a good mystery to curl up with on these cold winter days can't go wrong with “The Old Crocodile Man Theory." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1617166726213-UERXA05WLPRYTA6OXS2U/Elephant2.jpg The Book - Charlie Johnson Book Reviewer, Taking it Up to Sixty “From the first page to the last, Philip Hunsicker’s The Old Crocodile Man Theory engages the reader through a potent story that dances between murder, bribery, and reunions of old friends – all tied together with crackling humor and deeply clear descriptions. And it works!” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1617166623748-8LXY0P9MF2F6UF2JEUVZ/Crock2.jpg The Book - Steve Stromme Editor, Teacher, and notorious hard grader “Hunsicker has spun a gripping tale, a mystery that keeps you turning the pages long after bedtime. At times both hilarious and terrifying, The Old Crocodile Man Theory is a wild ride. Buy it and buckle up.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1616905751992-DY1HTVO9WO9JQOGC9QKT/jungle1.jpg The Book - Susan Ready EverReady Book Reviews “The Old Crocodile Man Theory is an engrossing and intriguing novel of love and atonement, deceit and bribery, often shrouded in African sorcery and black magic beliefs. A variety of environmental issues are central themes to the storyline. Philip Hunsicker’s first novel hits a homerun with his readers.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1622310173150-WAXSI5ES47RFLFDIIS7R/Croc-man+reader.jpg The Book - Boukoko Book Club former Peace Corps Volunteers who worked with the author in the C.A.R. “What a trip! A wonderfully entertaining story that took us right back to the heart of Africa. Funny and touching with twists and turns. Rich in humor and humanity. We did not want it to end. The Old Crocodile Man Theory: Not just for Humans. Buy one for your pet. They'll appreciate it.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1616906692611-95MOUU1AFVWL03CEIKB6/resized-image-Promo+%282%29.jpeg The Book - Jon White Author of Waiting for the Mango Rains “A remote corner of the Central African Republic, a homicide investigation, a ring of authenticity, a page-turner. Entirely believable and certainly possible.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1617233998764-318Q0GBF3YWFBC6HJT2G/Phil%2B%2526%2BFamily2.jpg The Book - Denise Phil’s wife “He’s a great writer. I wish he was as talented at doing the laundry.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1620174761829-LHUPATTRARSMWMIK0SED/pexels-cottonbro-4861347+%281%29.jpg The Book - Some Questions to Ponder and Discuss in your Book Club: 1. Kael poses a theory that Alaska and Africa are more alike than different. Do you think his theory has merit based on occurrences in the story? 2. How did Kael grow throughout the story? 3. Was there a character that stood out for you? Why? 4. What do you think happens after Kael, Josie and Tallin fly to Alaska? 5. The Kael chapters were full of humor. The Bolo chapters were not. Did this dichotomy work? Why? How does the humor buffer the difficult and complicated issues that were presented in the story? 6. Did you pick up on any subtle clues that made you think there was more to what was going on? 7. Like all humans, and like all good protagonists, Kael had both good and bad qualities. Can you point some out? 8. If you were asked to defend Bolo’s actions, what would be your argument? 9. How effective were the descriptions of setting – in Alaska, in Africa, in Minneapolis? 10. There was a lot of dialogue in the story. Did it work? Did it sound realistic to you? 11. What does the dual third-person narration (Kael and Bolo) bring to the story? 12. If you were to add a third narrator, who would you choose and why? 13. Several “religions” come together in the story – animism (belief in black magic and sorcery), Christianity/Catholicism (Pere Norbert), and Islam (Assan). How did Assan show you a different version of Islam from the one that is often portrayed on TV and in the movies? 14. Josie’s mother, Sapu, lets him leave Africa to go to the states with his father. Did you agree with her decision, or did you think, “How could a mother give up her child?” 15. How emotional was it for you when Bolo shot Charles, Diana, William, and Harry? Or when he shot the sisters, Sophie and Isabelle? Did you think they were elephants or people, or didn’t it matter? 16. Some African countries harvest their elephants like we harvest deer in the U.S. It controls the population. Critics say allowing the legal harvesting of elephants supports a market for ivory, which encourages continued poaching. What do you think? 17. What worked for you in this novel? What didn’t work? 18. The relationship between Josie and Kael grew throughout the story. Were there moments in this relationship that stood out for you? 19. This story is driven by Kael’s relationships – with Molly, Tallin, Josie, Assan, Nick, Nasseef, Dimasse, The Three Stooges, Pere Norbert, and Sapu. Pick a relationship and talk about why that relationship matters to the story, and to you, the reader. 20. Kael was able to get Assan released from prison by paying a fee, which was essentially a bribe. This happens a lot in Africa where people struggle to receive their wages while corrupt rulers steal millions. Paying a bribe encourages the process to continue. Do you think Kael was right to pay the bribe? Why? 21. This is a story of Molly, a young woman who died before her time. In the author’s acknowledgements, he recognizes that we all have people like that in our lives – friends or family who left us too soon. Talk about someone who left you too soon and how you keep them alive. 22. What was your biggest surprise as you read the novel? 23. This story takes place in 1990. How would the story differ if it took place in present day? 24. How did the book’s setting of Africa add to the story? 25. Kael and Tallin’s sex scene in Bayanga, along with the build-up to it and the breakfast the next morning, were fun scenes to write. Was it fun to read? Explain? 26. Kael had dreams of Molly reaching out for his help. They were real enough visions to make Kael venture thousands of miles away to the Central African Republic. Have you had any experience with an inexplicable sense that something was wrong, or someone was in danger, or that something was going to happen, and it did? How did you react? 27. The title, The Old Crocodile Man Theory, highlights Kael’s peculiar habit of devising theories to explain life’s little riddles. For example, Africa and Alaska are more alike than different, the relationship of penis length with things like desk size, fingernail length, and height, and the Hidden Cove theory, which helped him understand the reasons for poaching elephants. As you were reading the novel, did you devise any interesting theories about what was happening? If so, share them with the group. 28. The author wrote The Old Crocodile Man Theory as an homage to other dialogue-driven mysteries that are as funny as they are clever – Gregory MacDonald’s Fletch series, the Spencer series by Robert B. Parker, and almost anything written by Carl Hiaasen. Did this novel’s use of humor, dialogue, and quirky characters remind you of any other novels or authors you’ve read? 29. The author believes that novels are more than just characters, plot, setting and dialogue. A good novel must be comprised of moments that grab the reader, pull them into the story, and cause a physical or emotional response that lingers long after putting the book back on a shelf. Describe moments that touched you when you were reading The Old Crocodile Man Theory. 30. If you were asked to write a six-word memoir of the novel, capturing the essence of the story in only six words, how would it read? https://www.philiphunsicker.com/purchase-the-book daily 0.75 2022-01-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1617385604416-KY3SZ8J53AOHWVOR1NLD/Phil+%26+Family2.jpg Buy a Book–Change a Life https://www.philiphunsicker.com/press-media daily 0.75 2024-05-09 https://www.philiphunsicker.com/contact daily 0.75 2021-05-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e83c3cb47c6d07e664f106e/1620173750179-ZU32XY3KP32MSCWSBY1W/PhilBuffaloPlaid.JPG Contact Contact the Author