They walked to Joe’s ’57 candy-apple-red Chevy convertible. The girls crowded into the back seat. Joe was proud. Even though he had a back seat full of underclassmen, it was better than nothing. Joe tried to impress the girls pulling…
Category: The Summer of ’62
Foul Shot Sharp Shooter; The Summer of ’62
Rich needed to find some friends. He stepped into the midway and saw John Hester, Louie Borden, and Bill Hartman. They were from his class. They laughed and joked for a while over some small talk and jesting. Rich continually…
Lonely Cowboy; The Summer of ’62
After finishing the coke at the food tent Rich walked to the grandstands to watch a rodeo. He leaned against the fence, exposed to the sun in order to witness the action close up. Everyone else sat in the shade…
Poetry, Rhythm and Logic; The Summer of ’62
It was an afternoon of discovery. He attempted to apply logic to tossing rings around canes. He spent fifty cents to ring a ten cent cane, but he had a strategy and that made it all the more fun. Rich’s…
Teacher; The Summer of ’62
Mrs. Larsen dropped Rich off at the main gate of the county fair around 11:00 AM. Joe Quinn, who had a car, was supposed to meet Rich later and drive him home. A big day was planned. Rich had twenty…
Salvation Comes To Rich; The Summer of ’62
Over the next week, Mrs. Larsen and Mr. Larsen slowly eased up on Rich. He got the radio back. However, the only way to baseball games or practice was by bike or the generosity of one of the other players’…
Secrets of Slabtown; The Summer of ’62
Rich rode his bike toward Slabtown. He looked over his shoulder across the fields of sprouting corn and soybeans. In the distance stood his home. He thought, “Why can’t that home be like others? Why can’t I find peace and…
Chet’s Letter To Rich; The Summer of ’62
The next day, Rich rode his bike to practice. Don did not play on the team, but Sammy was the shortstop. After practice, Rich and Sammy rode home on their bikes. Sammy’s house was on the way to Rich’s. Sammy…
Chet Winter’s Secret; The Summer of ’62
The ride to the meadow was quiet. They parked the truck in the meadow, beside the state highway bridge to conceal it from traffic. They each carried an end of the coffin with the shovel on its top. They walked…
A Walk In The Night; The Summer of ’62
Rich wasn’t sure how long he was asleep before needing to urinate. Quietly, he lifted the flap of the tent and instead of taking advantage of the invitation extended by Mr. Tuttle to use the bathroom inside, he walked the…
Boy Talk; The Summer of ’62
The boys were sitting in a circle in the middle of the tent so that each could face the other. Only the low dim flicker of the lantern separated them. “What is your code to live by?” Don asked Sammy.…
The Night Begins; The Summer of ’62, Episode 19
Sammy Tuttle, Don Hastings, Larry Coleman, Chip Hawk, Butch Hawk and Rich bailed twenty-six hundred and sixty bails of hay in a day and a half for Chet Winters. Chet was a Dough Boy from the First World War. When…