Searching for Brakemen: A small collection of tall tales, short poems, and one play

If you’ve ever wondered what happened to some of the people you remembered as a kid, you know, the local big shot sitting on the bench outside the courthouse flipping a quarter, and maybe that friendly lady at the Dairy Queen who’d give you an extra scoop, or that cigar-smoking gas attendant at Sunoco, and how bout that guy you’d hope to see every Saturday about 4:04 p.m. standing on the back of the caboose waving a big wave to you and your friends. They’re all here along with bits and pieces of places and lost faces. Searching For Brakeman is a short, targeted account of jogged memories, wrong turns, and lucky breaks. Take a look and let me know if you meet anyone you’ve forgotten, as you walk yourself down the street in neighborhoods both lost and found. Searching For Brakemen covers alot of stops, from home and hearth, to careful alleys and hills, to foreign countries with familiar faces. You’ll meet magnificent misfits, passive palukas, and mysterious dames- a couple of talking cats too.

These tall tales taste of mulligan stew. And that’s a dish that stays with you until the end.