Better Be Home When The Streetlights Come On: Remembering the Summer of 1963 - Paperback

Recipient of the Literary Titan's Book Award for October 2023, "Better Be Home When the Streetlights Come On" is the story of old friends who reminisce about their adventures during the summer of 1963. The backdrop is a small steel mill town, Braddock, Pennsylvania which lies to the east of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River. Follow James Aloysius "Jack" Conley, as he meanders from the end of his school year at St. Brendan's Catholic school to the crescendo of all boyhood experiences - a week at Boy Scout camp marking the end of summer. On this journey are his inseparable buddies, Jewish kid, Don "Brain"" Cohen and their African American partner Chris "Chief" Johnson. "Brain" was given his nickname since he was the smartest among us kids. Chris was dubbed "Chief" since he claimed to have native American ancestry. Between the end of school and Boy Scout camp, the three will traverse various adventures of their eleven-year-old life and times. Along the way, readers will smile, laugh, and cry at the nostalgic look back at a more simple and innocent time.