Gordon Grindstaff

Good Times and Bad: a Humor Filled Chronicle of One Curmudgeon's Quest for Happiness. Gordon Grindstaff

Good Times and Bad contains an eclectic collection of stories, most of which first saw the light of day as newspaper columns. The subject matter ranges from a nostalgic look at growing up in the Truman/Eisenhower era to the trials and tribulations of forty plus years of marriage as well as the travels of the Author, his wife, Susie and their RV, 'Fionna'. A word of warning. If you're looking for a car chase or a steamy bedroom scene, then just move on down the road because they're not in these pages. However, if you like browsing antique shops or yard sales looking for the unusual, then you'll like this book. Like Travels with Susie, the book is part travelogue, part monologue, part History book, a tiny bit of birdwatcher's guide and all entertainment. It has a story to suit almost everyone. When you open the pages of Good Times and Bad, be prepared to ride your bike by the cemetery after dark, experience the thrill of the Miracle Power Booster and watch as John Roger Goodbody feeds quarters to the Rubber machine. And that's only Part One. There are also stories of travel in Florida, Texas, the Northwest, the southwest and Mexico in a continuation of the Travels with Susie chronicles. By the time you reach the last page, you will have tried to catch bees with the vacuum sweeper, gagged down a little split pea soup and found out what happens when you handle hot peppers and body parts in the same motion. And finally, if you look close, you will discover that when the author is not busy reporting on the human condition, he is unwittingly realizing what life is all about as he learns more about our world than he ever expected or wanted to know.