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Description edit
Originally part of The Bulls and the Bees, this is a collection of short stories written from the perspective of a teen-age boy. Spanning from before the stock market crash in 1929 to just after, the view of day-to-day minutiae has a very Seinfeld-esque humor.
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- Narrator: Teen-age boy who lives on a farm and attend a private Country Day school in New Haven CT
- Father: Successful stockbroker who works in New Haven, and owns a farm 8 miles outside New Haven.
- Mother: Originally from Virginia, and a democrat.
- Mr. Crepeau: Farmer on land owned by narrator's family
- Felix O'Brien: Neighbor's son
- Mrs. Embersits: Head of The Women's Auxiliary of The Young Republican Club
- Leonard Labonte: Local bully whose father is spending a two-year term in jail.
- Roland: The farm dog
- Don Bancroft: Business nemesis of the narrator's father
- Julie Bancroft: Daughter of Don Bancroft
- Herb Allen: Business associate of narrator's father
- Helen Bomba: Beautiful teen-age girl who rode the trolley to her school each morning
- Charlie Darrow: Sat next to Helen Bomba on the trolley every morning
- Clara Trepp: Date of the narrator to the dance his 11th grade year.
- Mr. Fowler: Coach of the country day school's football team
- Mr. Stevenson: Principal of the country day school in New Haven
Quotes edit
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“Mrs. Embersits had boundless energy, an acid tongue, and she cherished political grudges like most people cherish their childhood memories.”
Setting & Locations edit
- New Haven: Location of the country day school, and narrator's father's office
- Providence: Another country day school located here; rivals in football
- England: The narrator's father goes to England to recuperate after the stock market crash.
Organizations edit
First Sentence edit
At one thirty on this particular afternoon, dressed in a pair of Best and Company shorts and a coil of rope, I emerged from the house and ran out onto the lawn.
Table of Contents edit
The Afternoon Tarzan Came to Tea
Chickens
Why the Muskrat Has Two Names
The Trapping of Leonard Labonte
The Stock Market
Onions Make the Milk Taste Bad
Shooting Apples
Julie Bancroft Gets Married, I Guess
Symphony
Once Bitten
The Day I Threw the Football Game
A Handknit Sweater and a Ten-Dollar Bill
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