Coming of age in any time period is challenging, but growing up during the decades between World War II and the start of the Vietnam War was unique. McKinley, a small middle class community in the older suburbs of Philadelphia, PA holds a special place in the author's heart. Like many towns of its ilk of that period, it was a mostly self-contained environment where one walked to school or strolled a block or two to the nearest grocery, drug and hardware stores. A simpler time when there were party lines instead of smart phones, children would amuse themselves all day, when not in school, exploring the area parks and woods, and making their own adventures. However, in this memoir Frank "Buddy" Burr, also author of Common Thoughts - Essays and Poems, explores the ups and downs of childhood and adolescence in his engaging style.
About the Author: Frank Alan Burr was born in 1945 - the son of middle-class depression-era parents. It was instilled in him during childhood to set a goal of finding secure lifetime employment when he became an adult. Upon graduation from Peirce Junior College with an Associate Degree in Business Automation Management, he began a 30-year career with a large telecommunications corporation in Philadelphia, PA. He was employed in the quickly-emerging information technology sector. In 1966 he was drafted into the Army, and later in the year, as a military policeman, was deployed to Vietnam with an MP platoon attached to the 199th Infantry Brigade. Upon separation from the service he returned to his previous place of employment. He then earned his Bachelor Degree in Business Administration at night from La Salle College in Philadelphia. Despite his position in the corporate world, Mr. Burr felt his true calling was that of a poet and writer. He was encouraged to get into the literary field by an English professor at Peirce, but instead vied for the information technology career path because of the financial security it would provide. The implication of this decision would trouble him throughout his corporate career. In order to cope with the increasing stressful nature of his job, he began writing poetry in his spare time. This provided a much-needed cathartic outlet. With ten years to go before he could take early retirement benefits, he began planning his way out. Upon retirement in 1996 he began an antithetic part-time career as a school crossing guard. This allowed him to devote more time to writing poetry and personal essays. After having a couple of essays published in a local Audubon Society newsletter, he started writing a weekly opinion/commentary column for The Trend, a weekly publication distributed throughout southeastern Montgomery County in Pennsylvania. When his four-year stint as a columnist ended, he put his energy into publishing his first book, Common Thoughts Poems and Essays which is a compilation of works in both genres, written over the last two decades. After several years of off-an-on effort, in 2018 Mr. Burr wrote and published McKinley Memories - A memoir of growing up in the American suburbs of the 1950 and 60s.