A Mile of String: A Boy's Recollection of His Midwest Childhood

by David B. Crawley

Come along on a childhood adventure as seen through the eyes of a Midwestern boy growing up in the 1950’s. It reflects a time of innocence with a slower pace of life. The journey is set in the heart of the nation during a time when a child could leave home on his bike in the morning and not be seen again until suppertime. Get a boy’s-eye view of the rules and rites of the Catholic Church of that period, and his hilarious attempts to make sense of them and even make them work for him. You’ll experience weeks at camp with unprecedented freedom (think midnight horseback rides and way underage driving). Experience the heady independence of a young teenager spending endless summer days driving a tractor on a Kansas farm responsible just for himself, his machine and the job at hand. Share the quest through Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, first jobs and first car; feel the exquisitely embarrassing torture of first dates that gives way to the thrill of first love - and the devastation of first heartbreak. Watch a boy turn into a young man in this delightful stroll down memory lane.

237 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 4, 2013

About the author

David Crawley is a retired physician and commercial airline pilot. He was born and raised in the heart of the Midwest - Kansas City. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Doctor of Medicine Degree from the University of Kansas, and he is a graduate of the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute where he earned the wings of a naval flight surgeon. He and his wife Martha currently live in Spokane, Washington, but spend summers at their log home in the Madison River Valley of Southwestern Montana.

Dr. Crawley enjoys writing non-fiction. He has published a memoir about growing up in the 1950's in and around Kansas City titled "A Mile of String: A Boy's Recollection of His Midwest Childhood." In 2015, he completed "Steep Turn," a second memoir, which is full of interesting, vividly detailed and sometimes shocking stories that take you from his early days as an intern, through the twists and turns of his years as a Navy flight surgeon, his adrenaline-pumping work as an ER doctor and then his challenging transition to becoming a commercial airline pilot. It's an intriguing behind-the-scenes look at two very different career paths and the struggles in achieving both.

The author’s current project is his first work of fiction—a historical novel set in the late 1800s in rural Indiana. No completion date has been set.