The Road Ranger

Karl Milde recalls sitting by his family's staticky radio (he lived on a farm a long way from New York City from where the signal was broadcast) at eight o'clock each Wednesday evening to hear the program, The Lone Ranger." Karl liked the music (excerpts from Rossini's William Tell Overture and Les Preludes by Franz Liszt) and over time he grew to know and love the characters: John Reid, a Texas Ranger who was ambushed by a vicious gang and left for dead, andTonto, a Native-American, who found John in the wilderness and nursed him back to health. When John woke up, he asked Tonto what had happened. Tonto replied, "You only Ranger left... Others killed. You lone Ranger."Hearing this, John decided to dedicate his life to thefight for justice. He donned a mask to hide his true identity and adopted the name, "The Lone Ranger." Affectionately calling him "kemosabe," which means "friend," Tonto promised to be his faithful companion.The Lone Ranger owned a silver mine that provided him with funds as well as silver for his matched set of silver six-guns and his famed silver bullets. He named his pure white stallion "Silver" and outfitted him with silver horseshoes. Tonto's horse was a golden Palomino that he named "Scout."The Lone Ranger never drank alcohol or smoked, always used correct grammar, and never shot to kill his adversaries. He had the ability to shoot the guns out of his adversary's hands.Inspired by this radio program, Karl wrote this book as a homage to these legendary heroes. The names became "Road Ranger" and "Toronto" (a Latino who grew up in Toronto), and the horses became motorcycles, but he otherwise tried to remain true to the original Lone Ranger story. Karl hopes you enjoy reading this book as much as he enjoyed writing it.Karl lives with his wife, Cheryl, in Somers, NY, a suburb that's due north and a one-hour train ride from New York City.

Meet Tom Smith, the entrepreneur-founder of "RoadWheels," a hugely successful company that carries people and their cars from city to city in uniquely designed, double-deck tractor-trailers. While tailing a car that his company brought north from New York City and unloaded at Niagara Falls, a car he believes is smuggling contraband into Canada, Tom is ambushed, knifed and left for dead. An alert Canadian border official, Alonzo Sierra, saves his life by bringing him to a Toronto hospital. During his recovery, Tom decides to feign his own demise and continue his investigation incognito, his true identity known only to the top managers of his company and to Alonzo.

Wearing silver aviator glasses to mask his face, Tom follows a trail that leads him from New York City to a remote island in the South Pacific. As he gets ever closer to finding his attacker, a vicious killer known as the "Enforcer," and the Enforcer's boss, an evil woman who leads the smuggling operation, he loses his ownership of RoadWheels and unknowingly enters their deadly trap.


While following the twists and turns of his investigation, Tom meets one person after another who desperately needs his help. He takes time to stop whenever and wherever he finds injustice to protect the innocent and bring the wrongdoers to task. Step by step, Tom finds his true self, and a hero is born. He becomes the "Road Ranger," destined to travel the highways with his all-black tractor-trailer and silver motorcycle, accompanied by his young companion, Alonzo, whom he has dubbed "Toronto."