Shortly after Independence Day 1976, we moved to Texas and reunited with my father. A new state, a new town, a new school. It didn’t take long to meet all of the […]
8. You Can Check Out Any Time You Like
James Stafford
7. Your Dreams Were Your Ticket Out
After my father left we moved again, this time to a small rental home not too far from our old neighborhood. I didn’t have any interest in another round of fights just […]
6. Just For One Day
Life continued in the Chicago suburbs. My baseball skills improved, and I started holding my own in fights. I made a best buddy. We’d play Evel Knievel and Hot Wheels and listen […]
5. Show Me the Way
Manilow Madness aside, I did my best to be the manly son my father wanted. I joined the Cub Scouts. I played Little League and flag football. And the thing is I […]
4. My Dark Confession
I was hoping to never think about this, much less write about it. This is such a dark corner of my past that I’ve done my best to expurgate it from my […]
3. When Am I Gonna Come Down?
The Montgomery Ward Bargain Basement was a frequent destination in my early childhood. My father was a repairman for Wards at the time – one of those guys who drove a van, […]
2. School’s Out Forever
Not all of the flotsam from my father’s childhood drifted into my grandfather’s fireplace. When he was a boy growing up in his small mountain town, he struck a deal with the […]
1. The Mamas, The Papas, and The Grandpas
My grandfather participated in the liberation of Mauthausen concentration camp. I don’t know much more about this than what I’ve gleaned from a briefcase full of faded photographs that surfaced after he […]
The End of Music
I have been turning this question over in my mind for years: How can the music industry be dead? I don’t want to bother with the details — there are Google-a-plenty details […]
