Adult/High School–The Thunderbolt Kid was born in the 1950s when
six-year-old Bryson found a mysterious, scratchy green sweater with a
satiny thunderbolt across the chest. The jersey bestowed magic powers on the wearer–X-ray vision and the power to zap teachers and babysitters
and deflect unwanted kisses from old people. These are the memoirs of that Kid, whose earthly parents were not really half bad–a loving mother
who didn't cook and was pathologically forgetful, but shared her love
of movies with her youngest child, and a dad who was the greatest
baseball writer that ever lived and took his son to dugouts and into
clubhouses where he met such famous players as Stan Musial and Willie
Mays. Simpler times are conveyed with exaggerated humor; the author
recalls the middle of the last century in the middle of the country (Des
Moines, IA), when cigarettes were good for you, waxy candies were
considered delicious, and kids were taught to read with Dick and Jane.
Students of the decade's popular culture will marvel at the insular
innocence described, even as the world moved toward nuclear weapons and civil unrest. Bryson describes country fairs and fantastic ploys to maneuver into the tent to see the lady stripper, playing hookey, paper
routes, church suppers, and more. His reminiscences will entertain a wide audience.
👍Worth reading😄LOLZ
