Wayne Luckmann

Having finished his first year of college, Felix Fist sets off to complete his year of wandering: Leaving a dreary room in a derelict building on Anaheim in Long Beach on the border of the ghetto, Felix hitches rides to Oregon, works for the first and only time helping harvest grain, then takes to the road again traveling back to his place of origins where he encounters friends he thought he knew. His trip back through purple mountains, painted desert, and grasslands followed by a layover with a weird woman whose mystic manner and insatiable libido prompt him to stay, he experiences a long night walk to a small Midwest town and a troubling assault he accepts with a tinge of perverse pleasure. Finally arrived at his grandmother's on Milwaukee's Southside, Felix hears of family "misunderstandings" as well as news of people whom he had known before he left: Meeting with a former high school friend whom he had admired, he reunites with a woman he had met in high school whom he had considered his first love now married with children. After reconnecting with Fat Jack, the urban cowboy, Felix considers a former lover, he reunites with a married woman with whom he had a courtly "affair" that unrequited had prompted him to leave when offered the chance to attend college in California. Then at a dinner with estranged family celebrating his return at which he tries to resolve family "misunderstandings," he reconsiders why he thought he had returned safely home.

Reviewing lost times on Milwaukee's South Side during the 1930s and 1940s and beyond, this chronicle offers memorable events of an extended family of European heritage, some immigrating to America at the start of the 20th century. Recalling those events, the chronicle depicts how feelings and dreams deferred influenced perceptions and responses to the challenges of living in a new social environment and changing culture. Through its search for lost times, the chronicle offers moments that casts a line to the past that contributes to an understanding of the present passing moment. "Vivid, emotive writing that opens a doorway to a bygone era, this is the work of an acutely observant, perspicacious writer who captures with equal vigor the hubbub of South Side street life and the volatility of family dynamics existing behind closed doors." - Kirkus Review

Having completed his first year of college, Felix Fist sets off to complete his year of wandering: Leaving a rented room in a derelict building on Anaheim Avenue in Long Beach on the border of the ghetto, Felix hitches rides to Oregon, works for the first and only time helping harvest grain, then takes to the road again traveling back to his place of origins where he encounters friends he thought he knew.His trip back through purple mountains, painted desert, and grasslands followed by a layover with a weird woman whose mystic manner and insatiable libido prompt him to stay, he experiences a long night walk to a small Midwest town and a troubling assault he accepts with a tinge of perverse pleasure.Finally arrived at his grandmother's on Milwaukee's Southside, Felix hears of family "misunderstandings" as well as news of people whom he had known before he left: Meeting with a former high school friend whom he had admired, he reunites with a woman he had met in high school whom he had considered his first love now married with children. After reconnecting with Fat Jack, the urban cowboy, Felix considers a former lover, he reunites with a married woman with whom he had a courtly "affair" that unrequited had prompted him to leave when offered the chance to attend college in California. Then at a dinner with estranged family celebrating his return at which he tries to resolve family "misunderstandings," he reconsiders why he thought he had returned safely home