Whirlybird Day

By: Bob Walkenhorst

Narrated by: Bob Walkenhorst

In the town of Shorter, Missouri, lives are turning - like the big blades of the helicopter visiting the town for a summer festival - some slowly rising, others spinning toward the ground. Look closely at these people - the mysteries and coded messages of life are in the details and the mundane, in small decisions and hidden events.

Here are nine stories of lives on that single day - a former baseball star who comes back to lead the parade, a woman who drifts between dementia and magic, a local musician who may have played his final gig, a DJ who tries to come home but has trouble finding the way, a college girl anxious to leave her roots. Snapshots of lives, all turning, changing, happening - on Whirlybird Day.

©2020 Robert J Walkenhorst (P)2021 Robert J Walkenhorst

A day in the life...

This book has 9 or so stories of people living in a small town in Missouri circa 1970. It's the day of the county fair, and one major attraction is the appearance of a helicopter, which drops ping pong balls, some of which serve as vouchers for ride in the helicopter.

The stories have a few inside jokes and a fair amount of details from the author's life, as well as some food for thought.
I have to admit I was kind of perplexed by some of the details in the first story, but the ending has a pretty clear message (for me, anyway) of be careful what you wish for.. The story about the preacher is most memorable to me, but I am afraid the ending will be lost on too many readers today, as US society is becoming post-Christian, and many people already would not know the last sentence is from the Bible, let alone know what story it comes from. Tis a pity.

For those who are curious, the story is from Jesus talking about the final judgement, and how people will be judged worthy of heaven (or not) not based on whether they identified as Christian, but on whether they cared for the people around them.

There are a few stories of people who have left the small town and returned, with the small town being part of them, but not feeling like they fit anymore. This stories would be somewhat autobiographical, as author grew up in a small town in Missouri and left for the "bright lights" of Kansas City.

At this point I'll have to leave the review to those who are better at picking out themes and symbolism than I.

The author was the lead singer and the primary songwriter of a band called the Rainmakers in the 1980s. The writing for many of those songs is nothing short of inspired, and the music set a very high standard as well.

Bob knocks it out of the park!

Bob paints the canvas of small town Missouri during fair days. amazing! you can picture your self there for Whirlybird Day!!!

Great stories

Growing up in rural Missouri, these timeless stories spoke to me. I strongly recommend it.