Piano Days

Piano Days is the story of three boys growing up in the late 1950s and early 1960s in a small town doing the things young boys do; playing softball for the local church team, discovering girls, going to the record hop at the National Guard Armory on Saturday nights, and learning to drive while learning a little bit about life along the way. The townspeople impact the boys in various ways during their childhood and influence who they become as young adults. Toby, Billy, The Twins, Lannie Mae, Sue Jane, the two Tinas, Admiral Dressell, the teachers, the merchants, are there through first kisses, Friday night football games, the county fair, school pranks, high school graduation, and beyond. Readers will be taken back to a time in history they may never have experienced themselves but everyone seems to think they remember. The nameless, narrator is the catalyst among this group of friends. He is the voice of reason, judgment, and insight, and at the same time, the voice full of questions, anxiety, and sensitivity. From him we hear how hard first loves die and how easily new adventures arise to keep the summers alive for teenage boys; how the new school year stays interesting in friendly battle with the teachers and the principal; and how touching the simple, sweet memory of the annual Christmas parade down Main Street becomes in all its glory of color and sound. The boys learn the truth about race and religion. They experience the boyish excitement of a gypsy fortune teller and the responsibility of keeping a secret. They learn to dance and date and how to stay friends even through difficult times. They grow from kids on bicycles to young men knee-deep in life, with problems of their own but with enough time to come home for one another.