Although George Arnold warns the reader at the beginning of his book that some of his tales are completely true and some are mostly made-up he has written a delightful book about growing up in Central Texas as an 'in-betweener' (those born between the Great Depression and the Baby Boom. 1939-1947). George and his friends were always looking to make a fast buck and their first job was the most lucrative of his childhood career; they were paid $10 for every 'healing' at tent revivals for pretending to be miraculously healed by the travelling preacher. When George had amassed nearly $1400 by the end of the summer he devised a plan to 'launder' his earnings into a legitimate bank account (no, his parents did not know of his 'job') by opening his own lawn care business. When he was a young teen, George and 2 of his friends began working at the local movie theater, the location of some of their more elaborate pranks. Suffice it to say that a group of church ladies watching a Billy Graham revival movie, 2 teen boys hanging their bare bottoms over the balcony while dropping 'Elgin Hot Gut' sausages into the crowd had me laughing out loud.
Growing up in the 50's was a simple pleasure for George and his pals and they seemed to make the most of it with good-humored pranks played with abundant enthusiasm. A fun book! ( )