I Had Jelly on My Nose and A Hole in My Breeches: Adventures of a Modern Day Huck Finn
Floral Park, NY, February 17, 2015 – Reminiscing about the “good ‘ol days” can drum up some interesting memories of days gone by, a simpler time when the biggest concern children had was how many minutes they could play outside until Mom and Dad noticed the streetlights were on. After all, that was the universal signal that it was time to hightail it into the house. Author Robert McNally’s hilarious recollection of his childhood memories, in The Memoir of a Boy on His Dangerous Journey trilogy is reminiscent of Huck Finn. Similar to Huck Finn, McNally takes his readers along to experience extraordinary events, which ultimately form lasting bonds and memories.
The trilogy includes two volumes to-date: I Had Jelly on My Nose and A Hole in My Breeches (vol. 1), Sister Superior’s Thumb, the Pope’s Ring and the End of Childhood (vol. 2), and the final book in the trilogy is currently being penned.
I Had Jelly on My Nose and A Hole in My Breeches (vol. 1) highlights McNally’s childhood during WWII and the Great Depression when he grew up near a crematory and a jail. This wide-eyed, young boy’s inner circle included members of his family, inmates of the county jail, and his best friend Rosemary. In his surroundings were gypsies, beggars and hobos. In grade school, he frequently hopped rides on freight cars to explore lands unknown to him and to search for Nazi spies. He discovered a dead infant in the rubble of a fire he set twelve hours earlier.
The second volume of the trilogy, Sister Superior’s Thumb, the Pope’s Ring and the End of Childhood, continues on with McNally’s adventures as he enters adolescence. One day he picked himself up and walked out of school and did not return. Three months later he was registered in a different one. He found himself in trouble with the police, and convinced a couple of runaways to return home, and saved one runaway from being murdered by his runaway friend. He also reveled in his 15 minutes of fame when he captured the first black widow spider in the northeastern US.
“Times were much simpler then and the things we conjured up to entertain ourselves still make me smile,” says McNally. “My hope is that readers find themselves laughing out loud and recall their own childhood shenanigans.”
About the Author
Robert McNally writes about his life’s adventures growing up in Ridgewood and Middle Village, NY, at the coaxing of friends and family. Insurance auditor, turned writer, McNally now resides in New York with his wife and has been happily married for more than 50 years.
For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/RidgewoodBoy/
Available on Amazon.com at http://ow.ly/IV3nx and http://ow.ly/IV3gF.
I Had Jelly on My Nose and A Hole in My Breeches (Vol. 1 – The Memoir of a Boy on His Dangerous Journey Trilogy)
By Robert McNally
ISBN-10: 1475102410
Sister Superior’s Thumb, the Pope’s Ring and the End of Childhood: (Vol. 2 – The Memoir of a Boy on His Dangerous Journey Trilogy)
By Robert McNally
ISBN-10: 1490344489
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Q&A’s Available Upon Request
Amazon.com Reviews
Jennifer E. Puglisi: “The author is a gifted writer! McNally relays the experiences of his life in a way that makes you feel like you were there! There are so many intriguing stories that you will want to keep reading on to finish the book without putting it down!”
Linda: “The author is a gifted story teller who has the ability to make you fall into his childhood … This book has such a sweet honesty and gentle humor to it. Because Mr. McNally’s childhood really was quite interesting, there was no need for embellishing any truths here, making it a lovely, slice o’ life, feel-good, easy read.”
Sozo: “Mr. McNally tells a growing up story of boys during the war and in the neighborhood… He takes us back to times when boys explored and had heroes. I enjoyed his memories of movies, songs, and people from the pre-WWII years and after. He balances his work with humor and sadness and a sense of those simpler days before TV and electronics.”
