Contents
Foreword....................xiii
Preface....................xv
Acknowledgments....................xvii
Introduction....................xix
The Dark Ages of My Youth....................3
Changes in My Hometown....................5
Playing Marbles and Rolling Hoops....................8
Saturday Matinees at the Princess Theater....................10
When the Carnival Came to Town....................12
Selling Scrap Metal....................14
Neighbors Worth Remembering....................17
Banana Nut Bread, Fudge, and Making Taffy....................20
Revisiting Big Rock....................22
What the Heck Is a Skate Key?....................25
Breakfast Never Changes....................28
Camping....................30
Forest Fires....................33
Lilacs—My Favorite Flower....................36
Remembering Charles Kuralt....................39
Put the Brakes on Road Rage....................41
Decoration Day....................44
Firecrackers....................46
Lawn Mowers....................49
Dog Days....................51
End of Summer....................53
Canning....................55
Labor Day—the Last Hurrah....................57
Fountain Pens—They Sometimes Leaked....................59
Buddy Poppies....................61
Mom's Wash Day....................63
Spring Cleaning—Grandma Style....................66
Telephones—Yesterday and Today....................68
Trains and the War Effort....................70
Working My Way Up at the Greasy Spoon....................73
Summer Jobs....................75
Libraries Were Like Monasteries....................78
My Favorite Comic Strips....................81
Salting a Bird's Tail and Other Tall Tales....................84
That First Bike....................86
Litter Bags—Where Have They Gone?....................89
Thinking About Cars....................91
We Once Had Fans....................94
Spring Break—Pioneering the Long Trip....................97
I'm a Winner—So Was Mr Duggan....................99
Gasconade River....................102
My Love Affair with Rivers....................104
More River Thoughts....................107
A Mute Wedding and Another I Survived....................110
Once We Wore Galoshes....................114
Snow Forts....................116
Christmas Marches On....................118
A Christmas Story....................120
Making Peace with Winter....................122
White Christmases I Remember....................125
High School—Looking Back Fifty Years....................127
The Project....................129
The Project Begins....................131
I Have Created a Monster....................134
The Project Becomes a Teaching Tool....................136
Learning by Swinging a Hammer....................138
The Project Endures....................140
I Learn About Wiring....................142
The Roof Leaks....................145
It Was Almost Like Escaping from Prison....................148
Next Stop, the Sewer....................151
The Greatest Invention—Ever....................154
The Problem with Time....................157
An Anniversary—of Sorts....................160
How to Move a Mountain....................163
Into the Crawl Space....................166
The Shower Gets a Glass Wall....................169
What's That Stuff, and What's It For?....................172
The Studio Emerges—at Last....................174
The Project Is Finished....................176
Puppy Dogs....................179
One-Dog Family....................181
Another Second Dog....................183
Doghouse....................186
Raccoons, Dogs, and Cats....................188
Trapping Raccoons....................191
Trapping the Cat....................193
Remembering Moosey....................196
Brutie, Like Moosey....................198
Choir Practice....................200
Brutie and the Squirrels....................202
Checking Things Out with Brutie....................205
Jealous Cats....................207
The Birds Are Back....................210
People....................213
Remembering Sara....................215
Grandpa....................217
Barbara and Tim Conway....................220
Teachers I Have Known....................222
A Visit with Polly....................225
Barber Shop from the Past....................228
Skinny-Dipping, Mr Secretary?....................231
Dad Saw an Ivorybill....................234
Hoboes....................236
Dickie Pope....................238
Easter....................241
Family Reunion....................243
Charley Barnes Met Stan Musial....................245
Gerry Mulligan and His Music....................247
Habitat for Humanity—a Good Start....................249
Helping Others....................251
Jack Underwood....................253
Sometimes Cancer Wins....................256
Kristen's Sandbox....................259
Out of Grief, a Book....................261
John Krouse....................263
Remembering Jackie....................265
The Last World War I Pilot....................268
Lucius Newsome....................270
Lyman Porter....................272
Mom....................274
Dad at Eighty-Nine....................276
Jumper Collins....................279
Remembering Mr Gault....................283
Skydiving....................285
Small-Town Obit....................287
Walt Gelien....................290
Lex Cralley's War Souvenir....................292
The Unforgettable and Exasperating Bob Heisey....................295
My Brother Dies....................298
The Boat....................301
The Boat Begins....................305
Describing Key West....................308
The Boatyard....................311
Stock Island....................313
Working on the Boat....................316
A New Gangplank....................318
The Other Side of Key West....................320
Key West Chicken Roundup....................323
Chicken Roundup, Chapter Two....................325
Getting Things Done on the Boat....................327
The Bells are Tolling—Hurricane Katrina....................330
Wilma!....................332
Key West Recovers....................334
Garbage Truck at Fort Jefferson....................336
Rescue at Sea....................339
A Funeral at the Water's Edge....................341
One Final Trip to Key West....................343
Farewell to Key West....................345
This and That....................347
My Most Embarrassing Moment....................349
Using the Blender....................352
Looking for Grodies....................355
Moving Pianos....................357
Blowtorches and Cows....................360
Lawn Mower Racing....................363
Farm Sculpture....................365
Winter Storms Didn't Bother Stepin Fetchit....................367
I Thought I Hated Winter....................371
Considering the Horse....................374
Lost Soybean Project....................376
Beware of Promises Too Good to Be True....................379
Cemetery of the Innocent—1995....................381
Goodbye to Tavern on the Green....................383
Navy Destroyer....................387
Patrolling in Taiwan....................389
Ditty Boppers at Kunia....................392
Newport Revisited....................395
Remembering Pearl Harbor....................398
Final Thoughts....................401
Your Columnist Bids Farewell....................403
