Central Kansas Library System

The enormity of this gift is truly staggering; it's as if he gave me the keys to a new car. I promise myself that I will never think snotty things about Uncle Sugar's hari and his balloon butt ever again...

A national holiday in Lake Wobegon is always gaudy and joyful. But when the major planner behind the Fourth of July parade and the twenty-four-year-old girl who dresses up as the Statue of Liberty develop a close "friendship," rumors begin to fly. What will happen is anybody's guess as CNN and the governor put in an appearance in Lake Wobegon--home to a good loving people who drive each other crazy.

In this collection of stories about small-town life, Dale takes a step toward manhood and Darlene sets off for Minneapolis to begin a new life.

"It's 1956 and it's summertime in Lake Wobegon, Minnesota. The Doo Dads are singing "My Girl" on the radio and on the porch of the big green house on Green Street, fourteen-year-old Gary is studying pictures of naked women, aware that Grandpa is looking down from the window of heaven and wondering how a Sanctified Brethren boy could turn out so badly. He has never so much as kissed a girl, except his rebellious cousin Kate, a sophisticate of seventeen...