This memoir is a first-hand recollection of life in the slums of Seattle during the 1940's and beyond. Seattle's First Avenue reeks of excitement. It is a smell-in a place of littered wine bottles-of love found, lost, and purchased. Since 1851, Seattle's gambling, prostitution, drinking, and debauchery have centered on First Avenue. The people who lived and worked here are not high society. They are survivors, comprising a community where there is bonding and friendship. People from the affluent north end come to the avenue for amusement. People from the poor south end provided that entertainment. The elected officials and police accepted graft; they take bribes to look the other way. During World War II, the special electricity between the sexes happened because husbands, wives, boys, and girls were separated for long periods of time. Men were fighting in faraway places while girls were here at home, lonely, looking for and needing love. Human beings can be without intimacy for a while-but not forever. Atmosphere and loneliness were the formula for adopting new, expedient moral values. Lonely people can and do meet the opposite sex while looking for human companionship on the avenue. And where there is "sin," there is money to be made. These are the sights and sounds as seen by a twelve-year-old eyewitness.
About the Author: Thomas L. Johnson grew up dirt poor in a largely dysfunctional home with little support or guidance. His dangerous life as a child in the projects propelled him to an even more dangerous life on Seattle's skid row where crime, sex, and poverty were the everyday way of life. No child belonged there. During WWII, debauchery was at an all-time high, and standard morals were at an all-time low. The specter of death touched every aspect of life; young service men left and never came back. Tommy wanted out, he was willing to do anything necessary to make a few bucks, better his life, and get out of the hellhole that was called home. His grandparents, and a special aunt were his safe harbors when he could escape to their homes. At those houses, he found encouragement, approval, and love. He overcame the odds and followed his dream of education, graduating from the University of Washington in 1956. His Air Force career then began and spanned twenty-seven years and included four tours in Vietnam. He retired with the rank of full colonel. During his military career, he went on to receive two more advanced degrees. After leaving the Air Force, he spent sixteen years as a college professor, teaching at both the University of Mobile and the University of Maryland - University College. He achieved the rank of full professor in both positions. He is widely traveled and has lived in Germany, Korea, Guam, Morocco, England, and has visited foreign countries as an Air Force officer, a professor, and civilian. Traveling is one of his great passions; the other is reading. He devours non-fiction books on almost any subject. Johnson now resides in Alabama with his wife Judy. They have four kids, six grandkids, and one perfect little great granddaughter. Their rather hyperactive Golden Retriever, Skili, rounds out their family.