Tales from the Oak Hammock

About the Book

Other than black and white TV, the baby boomer boys growing up in the little oak hammock east of South Florida’s everglades don’t have much to entertain them. Personal computers and the Internet are still decades away. Organized youth sports are all but non-existent in their environs. Rock and roll is king but exists only on an AM radio station and a stack of black vinyl disks.

So how does a brotherhood of youngsters come of age while manufacturing adventure from an otherwise uneventful existence in the early ’60s? How do they spend their summers when girls are still mysterious, undiscovered creatures and the bicycle is the only mode of transportation? And how do they face life’s unanswered questions while anticipating their once-in-a-lifetime trip to the New York World’s Fair?

Tales from the Oak Hammock chronicles the amusing answers to these questions as it recounts the misadventures—and misdemeanors—of boys who sometimes catch a glimpse of life’s meaning—but more often merely observe its puzzling complexities. They are the first generation raised by TV so they surely don’t have all the answers—but this one thing they know: Life isn’t always fair, but it’s almost always in black and white!

About the Author

Dr. Gossman spent his teen years during the 1960s in suburban Miami, Florida. Having worked for 30 years in the field of engineering and as a college professor, his fondest memories still return him to the four-acre wood of his boyhood—and the summertime adventures he will never forget.