Foreword

Welcome to my website. The stories and sketches that you'll find here are examples of the kinds of writing I've been doing over the past thirty years or so.

Some of the stories are based on my memories of growing up in Kansas City in the forties and fifties. That was a time of great change throughout the world – World War Two and its aftermath, the rebuilding of western Europe, the Sovietization of eastern Europe, the Congressional committee on un-American activities, and the presidencies of Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower – to mention only a few of the major events that would help shape the world of today.

But, somehow, these didn't seem to register very much with me. My world was confined to my family and immediate surroundings.

There's a song that says, "Everything's up to date in Kansas City," and as far as I was concerned, Kansas City was where everything important happened. Everything I needed was in Kansas City. We were at the geographic "heart" of the nation. And every day in geography class, when Miss Kearns pulled down the map of the United States, there was Kansas City – right in the middle. Everything and everywhere else was "up there" or "down there" or "over there."

In the Kansas City stories, I'll mention members of my family – in particular, my sisters, Mary Ann and Virginia – who is often referred to as "Babe." The Kansas City stories, and others, are included in a collection I published, titled "Bloody Bones in the Coal Shed."

Some of the stories here are flights of imagination. Some of them are so far-fetched that they sound like outright lies. And, I have to admit, some of them are pretty dark. And they vary in length – some are pretty long, and some are over before you know it.

Elsewhere on my website, you'll find information about how to order a copy of my book and information about book readings and my new CD. I'll continue to post new material from time to time. Meanwhile, I hope you'll find your visit here worth your time.