Well, Ray has always said 'throw up in the morning, clean up at night'.

The philosophy is 'get those thoughts down on paper the moment they occur'. But LATER, apply the intellect, take your time to shape it into something readable. Fifty-odd years in Ray's case!

Chapter 31, that was the admonition that Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston Seagull, et. al.) always gave me, write it down. He always had some scrap of paper, napkins, matchbook covers, whatever, where he would jot a note to remind him later of a thought. When I was back in Minnesota and going through mounds of stuff in my sister-in-law's basement I came across all my letters back home to my first wife, also maps, and notes. I have always wanted to write a book about the lighter side (could there have been one?) of Viet Nam and have written one chapter with the title of "Have You Ever Taken a Bucket To the Bathroom?" Well, have you?

And, of course, I believe that Richard got the idea from Ray, but I could be wrong.

One of the lighter moments:

Viet Nam, Mothers Day, 1968. Daylight--not hours of darkness. I’m in the shower (sort of an open air affair) buck-naked. I’m shaving and looking into a little mirror I had propped up in front of me when the first rocket comes in and the mirror falls. I run out of the shower, look for shelter and see a Zulu-Three bunker off to my left. I run out of my shower shoes and into the bunker and right behind me are about six other buck-naked dudes.

I never did find the shower shoes.

Put in those terms, the writing subject makes sense. Always does.

Check out this somewhat tepid, yet interesting Sci-Fi online review of Farewell Summer.

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http://www.scifi.com/sfw/books/sfw13920.html

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Paul Di Filippo's review at SciFi.com, linked above, is probably the most astute yet.

Favorite parts: Doug Spaulding is the "budding Buddha of Dandelion Wine," and if the original novel had a message, it was to "see, feel and appreciate."

Well, I just finished "Farewell Summer". I agree with Biplane that it's too short! It's good to be back in Greentown for awhile, but I wish there was more of a 'flow' between the two books. Also, when did Doug's grandparents live in a different house than his? Did I miss that in D.W? I guess I'll have to read that again...

"One night each week he was allowed to leave father, his mother, and his younger brother Tom asleep in their small house next door and run here, up the spiral stairs to his grandparents' cupola, and in his sorcerer's tower sleep with thunders and visions, to awake before the crystal jingle of milk bottles and perform his ritual magic."

DW, pg. 1

(I can still vividly hear Old Mr."Orly" Greene, pulling into our driveway in his panel truck before 5:00am and jingling the bottles as he took away the empties and replaced them with fresh-filled ones.)

Whew. Thanks, Butch. I guess I had too many mental images of Doug with his grandparents - eating marvelous dinners, watching his grandmother in the kitchen, hearing his Great-grandmother up on the roof, etc.

You're right. Most occur at their big boarding house. Nice images you've mentioned ~ I can taste the pies, see the flour and spices flying, and hear the tap-tap-tapping...Magic!