My primary reason for recording the events of these youthful years is for the pure and simple enjoyment of my children and grandchildren. My two incredible daughters, Chrissy and Jenny, and my wonderful wife, Connie, have been lovingly prompting me for years to do this. So here you have it. Not all of it, but some of it. Growing up in Carroll, Iowa, in the '40s, '50s, and early '60s was so exciting and so much fun that words cannot capture the reality of it all. My brother Snap and I were Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn with one major difference. We actually did all this stuff and somehow lived to tell about it. Each chapter is written according to my recollections. There was no collaboration with Snap or any other characters in this book. Some of the names have been changed to protect the privacy of certain individuals and their families. I have written as if I were telling the story at that age and corresponding state of mind. It's not intended to be perfect prose. Far from it! It's an effort to take you on a fun-filled journey back to a time and times that should not pass with my passing. The chapters of this book are not in chronological order. So kick back and read them at any time and in any order that piques your interest. All of these events truly happened. I know because I was there. And I wrote the book. I am John W. Bruner.