Daze Gone Bye

by Terry Lloyd Vinson

The hours following high school graduation represent the final dusk before dawn when adolescence officially ends, and adulthood begins. The 1980 class of Baymont High are shedding their caps and gowns for one final, glorious night of youthful shenanigans, where time-tested rituals of generations past will be served with unrestrained tomfoolery and hilarity. Cruising the streets of smalltown USA, engines will be revved, pranks unleashed, and fast-food and bootleg booze ingested even as old grudges are settled and childhood friendships face unavoidable closure. You are cordially invited to spend the next twelve hours with the class of ’80, for a wild, magical and wholly unchecked night of thrills, spills and pathos, the equal of which they will never again experience.

291 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 19, 2025

Reviews

[Douglas Boren · Rating 4 out of 5]

"American Graffiti" revisited!
This is a very different (Refreshing?)type of story by the master of the macabre. No monsters, no death, no supernatural oddities, no revulsion.

Instead it is a look back with poignant longing at youth. The hijinks of a newly graduated High School class enjoying their new-found freedom. Their angst is palpable. The story is edified with copious references to a cornucopia of Rock and Roll, songs from that era... that would be circa 1980.

Well done, my friend...well done indeed!

[Naomie Barnabas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nostalgic, high-octane joyride through one unforgettable night, this coming-of-age tale captures the wild heart and bittersweet beauty of saying goodbye to youth.