Title The Grand Duke from Boys Ranch / Bill Sarpalius ; foreword by Bill Hobby

Edition First edition Published College Station : Texas A & M University Press, [2018]

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Description 1 online resource (xii, 322 pages) Series Eugenia & Hugh M. Stewart '26 series Eugenia and Hugh M. Stewart '26 series. Contents Cal Farley's Boys Ranch -- Abandoned -- Cal Farley -- A schooling -- The rodeo -- Homeless -- Tascosa -- Back to school -- Growing up -- Farming my future -- Future Farmers of America -- The free world -- Politics -- Honey -- A new road to travel -- A new road to travel -- The primary -- The general election -- Am I in over my head -- My first session -- Fighting mad -- The painful road to national politics -- Finding my father and saving the FFA -- A walking miracle -- Agony even in victory -- From slot machines to Congress -- What does He have planned for me? -- The Lithuanian dream -- International politics -- The fall of the Soviet Union -- The fighting the Soviet Empire -- The First Lady comes to Boys Ranch -- Voting for war -- Losing what you love -- Grand Duke Summary As a boy in Houston, Bill Sarpalius, his brothers, and their mother lived an itinerant life. Bill dug food out of trashcans, and he and his brothers moved from one school to the next. They squatted in a vacant home while their mother, affectionately called "Honey," battled alcoholism and suicidal tendencies. In an act of desperation, she handed her three sons over to Cal Farley?s Boys Ranch north of Amarillo. At the time, Bill was thirteen years old and could not read. Life at Boys Ranch had its own set of harrowing challenges, however. He found himself living in fear of some staff and older boys. He became involved in Future Farmers of America and discovered a talent for public speaking. When he graduated, he had a hundred dollars and no place to go. He worked hard, earned a scholarship from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and obtained a college degree. After a brief career as a teacher and in agribusiness, he won a seat in the Texas Senate. Driven by the memory of his suffering mother, he launched the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in an effort to help people struggling with addiction. Sarpalius later served in the United States Congress. As a Lithuanian American, he took a special interest in that nation?s fight for independence from the Soviet Union. For his efforts, Sarpalius received the highest honor possible to a non-Lithuanian citizen and was named a "Grand Duke."The Grand Duke from Boys Ranch is a unique political memoir?the story of a life full of unlikely paths that is at once heartbreaking and inspirational Notes Includes index Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on May 22, 2018) Subject Sarpalius, Bill, 1948- Cal Farley's Boys Ranch (Tascosa, Tex.) -- History Future Farmers of America -- History SUBJECT Cal Farley's Boys Ranch (Tascosa, Tex.) fast Future Farmers of America fast Subject Legislators -- United States -- Biography Lithuanian Americans -- Biography POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Government -- Legislative Branch. Legislators Lithuanian Americans United States Genre/Form Electronic books autobiographies (literary works) Autobiographies Biographies History Autobiographies. Autobiographies. Form Electronic book LC no. 2017056329 ISBN 9781623496586 1623496586

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