Author Robert McNally is a retired Insurance Auditor who has recaptured his youth in a trilogy. This is the third book. It's now the author's conviction that he was not convicted, but he was arrested, fingerprinted, interrogated, photographed and locked up. Try and tell that to a bureaucratic bungler from Selective Service, better known in my day as the Draft Board, who changed McNally's classification from 1-A to 4-F. His new card read: Unfit for military service. In reality and based on derring-do, he was about as fit for military service as America's most decorated soldier, Audie Murphy. That alone could be the story of his life. However, there were so many strange happenings for McNally that he had to tell more than a few of them. An interesting one occurred while working for the crematory. He found himself in the company of an internationally known monk who had been unfrocked by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was considered a mad monk even though he was a great friend to the czar of Russia and a chum to a real mad monk, Rasputin. The author was the last person on earth to see him dead. The incident was made note of in the daily newspapers, but McNally did not gain any mention as he had for discovering the first black widow spider in the northeastern states. That little known fact is recorded in the authors' second volume. McNally's dangerous journey loses not a moment in this final installment. The ongoing adventures begin on the first page. Danger for the author never seems to end. But no matter how exciting his adventures, it was falling in love which was the highlight of his young life and to this day a delight to recall. Having reverential feelings for his sweethearts was certainly a good thing. However, the results didn't help romance and usually left him in the doldrums. This volume highlights the dilemma but does not interfere with the excitement and fun. For readers who enjoy looking back to their youth, this book is for them. Those who have read the author's earlier works say they feel as though they are right there with him. If you like getting a vicarious thrill with lots of laughs, go along with him on his dangerous but fun filled journey.
About the Author: Author Robert McNally writes about growing up during the Great Depression and World War II. When he retired as an insurance auditor, he turned to writing. McNally now resides in Floral Park, NY with his wife and has been happily married for 60 years. Born in Bridgeport, Ct., and with money scarce, the family moved to Middle Village, NY, where his father secured work in a crematory and received free housing on the property. With his good memory, the author reminisces about the "good 'ol days," and also the bad. Robert McNally's hilarious recollection of childhood memories in "The Memoir of a Boy on His Dangerous Journey" trilogy is reminiscent of Huck Finn. McNally takes his readers along to experience extraordinary events, which ultimately form lasting bonds and memories. The trilogy includes: I Had Jelly on My Nose and A Hole in My Breeches (vol. 1), Sister Superior's Thumb, the Pope's Ring and the End of Childhood (vol. 2), The Boy Who Loved Girls (vol. 3). Volume one highlights McNally's childhood during the Great Depression era. This wide-eyed, young boy's inner circle while living next to a crematory included members of his family and his best friend Rosemary. In his surroundings were Gypsies, beggars and hobos. When the family moved back to his birthplace they lived across the street from a jail. Some of the inmates became his good friends. In Ridgewood he hopped rides on freight cars and explored the local environs. There were Nazi spies throughout Ridgewood and in his search for them, he found one living in his apartment building. One morning he discovered a dead infant in the rubble of a burned out fire he had set some 14 hours earlier. The second volume of the trilogy continues on with the author's adventures as he enters adolescence. One day he picked himself up and walked out of school and did not return. Three months later he was registered in a different one. Occasionally he'd find himself in trouble with railroad detectives and the neighborhood police. On the other hand he tried to convince a couple of runaways to return home, and saved one runaway from being murdered by his friend. McNally also reveled in his 15 minutes of fame when he captured the first black widow spider in the northeastern US. "Times were much simpler then and the things we conjured up to entertain ourselves still make me smile," says McNally. "My hope is that readers find themselves laughing out loud and recall their own childhood shenanigans."