"Back in the Day" Info Summary

Back in the Day…is the second book in the “historical life series” of a boy born in Nebraska in 1932, and will cover his ten year period from 1945 to 1955.  The author will take you on “time travel trips” back to specific time frames in the story to maintain the flavor of the places and individual characters in the story from his four years in high school, the summers in-between, and throughout his four years in the U.S. Navy.  You will share his opportunity for adventures in both the places he visits and people he meets.

Genre Classification – Historical Fiction

Back in the Day…was published (October 2012) by CreateSpace as a paperback and also a Kindle-Ready conversion with both of them being immediately available on Amazon.  Expanded distribution was also made available through CreateSpace with distribution to major book stores (like Barnes & Nobel) through Ingram Book Company (the largest U.S. book wholesaler).

Back in the Day Excerpts…

From high school…The juniors and seniors were assigned in pairs for the freshman initiation process, with an attempt to diversify them between farmers, ranchers, or Curtis townspeople.  The pair (Rowdy and Dewayne) who were assigned to Johnny and I approached us, carrying white porcelain pots (hospital bed pans).  Rowdy said, “I know you’re swell little guys, but I want you to do two things.  Drop those silly smiles off your faces immediately, then drop your pants and sit on these pots right in from of the NSA arch.”

From summers in-between…This particular day, Sonny and I had made our way to Fox Creek, and stripped down for a little skinny dipping!  We hung our shirts and pants on bushes, weighted down by our shoes that were stuffed with our socks and skivvies.  We were relaxing in those natural clay bathtubs, when we heard girls’ giggly voices.  The normal thing for us to do was to hunker down as best we could in those deep holes and just wait for them to leave.  The girls, getting braver, came down behind the bushes near the creek bank, and started teasing us by saying, “What are you guys doing?”

From the U.S. Navy…Midday, we were given liberty into Port-au-Prince with our liberty launches landing near the city market area where the natives were selling their wares.  Poverty was everywhere you looked and the little kids’ appearance led you to believe they hadn’t had a meal for some time.  We spotted Commander Shaw just ahead of us in the market area talking to a little boy who was leading a donkey with a rope halter through the area.  We got close enough to hear the conversation and Commander Shaw was offering the little boy $20 for his donkey.  The little guy’s eyes lit up when Commander Shaw handed him the $20, and he in turn handed the commander the rope halter attached to the donkey.  He proceeded to ride his newly acquired donkey across the market area, and when he reached the far side of the area he dismounted.  We noticed that the little boy had been following him all the way across the square.  Commander Shaw handed the rope back to the little boy and told him, “Son, I better not try to take this donkey aboard our ship.  I’ll just give him back to you, and here is $10 more for you to feed him, since he carried me across the square.”  The little boy’s eyes got as big as saucers and he ran right over and hugged the commander’s leg!