Glimpses of the Shark-Tooth World

Trapped by a rainstorm in a restaurant, a father tells the story of his boyhood to his 10-and-12-year-old children when he was their age. The story pinpoints the transition from a happy childhood to a tougher, more dramatic world. The father takes the family back to Florida in 1962, when he lives in a 2-bedroom home but meets the lovable girl Deanna and her wealthy family in their 16-bedroom mansion. He is thrilled and frightened by his best friend Chuck, who on top of his outrageous antics steals everything, including oranges from a tree belonging to the wealthy family—which leads to the encounter with Deanna. More than having fun, however, he also glimpses the shark-tooth world when one friend’s mother, whom he idolizes for her friendliness and beauty, dies of cancer while the father of another friend, a dedicated Dad and Navy aviator, dies in an aircraft accident. He learns that his own father, also a Navy pilot, is assigned to kill 600,000 people with a single nuclear weapon. Equally haunting, he encounters an old, blind, black man with a guitar and a beautiful voice. The man befriends him and reveals his story with a vision that transcends his long-lost eyesight. Packed with laughter, heartache, and dramatic characters—from the ideal girl Deanna to Chuck as Tarzan Junior to the elderly black singer with his versatile range of songs—the father’s memories revive the multi-layered world of love and loss in childhood.