Despite a backdrop of fragmentation and segregation, the narrator recalls the joy church gave him and his family in 1962.

The narrator remembers an aunt who like a seaman self-lessly gave for her family.

The speaker remembers a mentor who inspired him and his friend in big and small ways.

A multi-racial, black boy is as unsure how to feel about the white hero of a popular 60's movie as he is of his father and new wife.

The narrator finds a humorous but profound connection with a "slow" man who helps his feisty great-aunt out at the store, while the community "heroes" make fun.

The narrator connects with his less than perfect uncle as they listen to the most popular local DJ.

The narrator recalls how he and his uncle loved listening to a Maryland dj, connecting in an unspoken way, and maybe momentarily forgetting their isolation.

In this poem the narrator reflects on the trials, tribulations, and ecstasies of one of his closest family members who like himself grew up in a world that was sometimes confusing but also hopeful.

The narrator recalls a family with gratitude despite mixed coding in the environment.

This is a draft chapter of the book I am currently working. The book details a boy's difficulties with his parents early divorce and other joys and pains of growing up along the Rappahannock River in the 50's and 60's.