{"product_id":"becoming-fargo-boy-to-man-9780983092858","title":"Becoming Fargo: Boy to Man","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the Foreword: \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis is my second book about what it was like for a boy to grow up in Fargo from 1953 to 1980. Make no mistake - the idea of writing these is Not so readers will come to know Me personally. My life isn't all that notable. I just tell stories. In this book, I am somewhat more reflective than narrative - it isn't so much What happened that's interesting, but what lessons could be derived.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThat era - 1950-1980 - is too often overlooked down on the Personal level. Yeah - everyone has heard about the Big Historical Things, but few actually experienced most of those. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs one of my high school classmates (whose name is Very well-known in Fargo to this day) confided in a recent email, \"I guess I assumed I was the only kid with an inner life.\"\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eShe wasn't. We all had Inner Lives. We all experienced them in our own way, figuring that there was some sort of Unique thing going on that wasn't anything like the lives we saw publicized on television. We saw the Ozzie and Harriet fantasy, where Moms and Dads were always just 100% appropriate, Fine Upstanding People in their communities, with handsome children and No genuine problems other than those silly plotlines that went on for a half hour. With commercials.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOur families weren't like that, and we were led to believe that If they weren't, there was Something Wrong - with us \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe television shows were lying.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReal People - people we knew and saw every day - didn't live like that. Families were Not always close-knit and friendly. Real tragedies happened and left lifelong scars. The moments of genuine joy were so unusual that we often didn't recognize them when they happened.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOur reaction was predicated on how the television shows suggested we Should act, and not on how Real People actually experienced living and loving in a time of great social change.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSo many old friends, and even folks I've never met before, have commented that after reading the \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eBeing Fargo\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, their own memories of their own lives somehow got freed from a lifelong set of inappropriate expectations. Several suggested that they had believed that somehow their lives were more Failure than Success, and that had stayed with them over the years. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe are a ridiculous and endlessly funny species - sometimes. We are also tragic and sad - sometimes. Both experiences play out, and each teaches us something. But we tend far too often forget or overlook the intensity of the Joy, and instead make a point of endlessly re-living the sadness.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThere's no point in that.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThere are many lives that really Were tragedies in many ways. Some of those early experiences colored our abilities to experience much else over the years, so some sort of internal balance is now in order. We would do well to remember the fun, the silliness, the funny parts and sometimes just the sheer Joy of being alive. And having survived to remember.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIf these stories provide a context for seeing how Life was experienced at the time, how the central experience of learning to Love could come about, consider them my gift. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Don Homuth\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Don Homuth\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/02\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 262\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.78lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.55d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780983092858\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis title is not returnable\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Don Homuth","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":40476508029043,"sku":"9.78E+12","price":20.38,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_57f5fa92-e9d0-41c5-8f63-962c2427ab6d.jpg?v=1664460963","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/products\/becoming-fargo-boy-to-man-9780983092858","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}