Thomas J. Davis (1) (1958–)

1942 is set to be a time of change for a young twelve-year-old boy growing up in Smoky Hollow, Georgia. The youth lives with his Daddy and his aging Granny. Days are spent doing chores milking the cow, collecting eggs, and the hated weeding in the red clay garden that provides all the family’s vegetable. But the days are rich in enjoyment, racing with his best friend, Bobby, swimming in the creek, kicking stones down the clay roads. Life is simple, filled with loving family and friends. The seasons pass, the weather changes, and time moves along. Granny is busy making a quilt for her son, Joey, who left home at the age of seventeen for the jobs to be found in Detroit. Joey has promised to come home this Christmas. And Granny wants to make him something special.

This book brings much of the warmth of many coming-of-age books written for times gone by. The family may be poor in material things but it is rich in the love of family. And if you just happened by on a Sunday afternoon, they probably would have set a place for you with a plate of fried chicken, biscuits and blackberry jam.
… (meer)

Mildred Jackson is preparing to move out of the home that she shared with her late husband Jim, and the packing brings a whole set of memories, both good and bad flooding to the surface topped off by the Aluminum Christmas Tree.

So many of us sit and reminisce around the holidays, so what better trigger for those memories than a specific Christmas tree. The story that was told in this book was of a couple who battled through hard times and shared those as well as the good.

I want to thank my friend whisper1 (Linda) for sending this book to me. One that may become a perennial favorite.… (meer)