Meet The Gang!
Welcome to our gang. Thanks for dropping by! We invite you to join in our adventures as one of us and we hope that you enjoy the ride we take you on. Most of all, we hope that you will share our joys, fears, fights, laughter, and friendship.
We don't want you to just read "Blue Collar Kids," we want you to experience our world of Cedar Hill in 1960. Join us and remember what it was like being a kid.
Stinky Miller was a 5' 1" , 110 lb. eleven-year-old with the chubby body, impish face and disarming smile that belied the fact that he was a conniving, truth-stretching version of the Pillsbury Doughboy.
At 5' 3" and 85 lbs., A.J. was the tallest and most mature of the gang. His dark brown hair was longer than his crew-cut friends. Sharp blue eyes gave him a distinguished look. Andy Jankowski was a tough, but gentle kid, who'd been forced to grow up fast after his father's death.
Leonard "Heavy Duty" Johnson was the largest boy in the neighborhood. He was blonde, blue-eyed, 4' 10" and pushing 120 lbs. He always wore a crew-cut, with the front hairs plastered back with Pomade. He was a kid short on words, but long on reason. He rarely ran, he just moved. To Heavy, energy was something to be conserved for when it was needed most, like when he was running away from his mother whenever he got into hot water.
At the age of 10, 4' 9" Allen "Shavey" Bernstein had a five o'clock shadow, a uni-brow, and more hair on his body than all the other kids combined. Two rumors floated around about Shavey: his arms were so hairy that he had them trimmed whenever he got a haircut and that he had a sister who was a real chimpanzee that his parents kept locked up in a closet under the staircase.
Eddie "Giggy" Brown was a skinny 4' 8", 75 lb. ten-year-old with big brown eyes and eyelashes that were the envy of his mother and every girl in town. He had a head full of unruly brown hair and a huge heart. Feeling sorry for people was his specialty. He loved to climb and could scramble of a tree like a squirrel. The rest of the gang wondered if he was a mutant with hidden claws.
Louie "Weasel" Dinkins was a wiry kid with shaggy red hair, beady green eyes, an extra long nose, and freckles. He looked like a red-headed Pinocchio. His eyes were always moving, a natural reflexive action from his compulsive need to steal.
Ricky "Rickets" Johanson was graced with pasty white skin, bushy brown hair, and the "shakes." He, Giggy and Weassel were similar in size and weight. Whenever he got excited, he shook like a rickety old building that was ready to collapse. Combing his hair was out of the question. Pomade couldn't compete with the shaking.
Last (but certainly not least) was our girl, Trudy Campbell, who was the belle of the gang. If the boys ever called her that, she'd sock them. They couldn't even call her pretty. At 5' and 75 lbs., the eleven-year-old with the blonde pageboy and gangly legs was one tough girl.
We don't want you to just read "Blue Collar Kids," we want you to experience our world of Cedar Hill in 1960. Join us and remember what it was like being a kid.
Stinky Miller was a 5' 1" , 110 lb. eleven-year-old with the chubby body, impish face and disarming smile that belied the fact that he was a conniving, truth-stretching version of the Pillsbury Doughboy.
At 5' 3" and 85 lbs., A.J. was the tallest and most mature of the gang. His dark brown hair was longer than his crew-cut friends. Sharp blue eyes gave him a distinguished look. Andy Jankowski was a tough, but gentle kid, who'd been forced to grow up fast after his father's death.
Leonard "Heavy Duty" Johnson was the largest boy in the neighborhood. He was blonde, blue-eyed, 4' 10" and pushing 120 lbs. He always wore a crew-cut, with the front hairs plastered back with Pomade. He was a kid short on words, but long on reason. He rarely ran, he just moved. To Heavy, energy was something to be conserved for when it was needed most, like when he was running away from his mother whenever he got into hot water.
At the age of 10, 4' 9" Allen "Shavey" Bernstein had a five o'clock shadow, a uni-brow, and more hair on his body than all the other kids combined. Two rumors floated around about Shavey: his arms were so hairy that he had them trimmed whenever he got a haircut and that he had a sister who was a real chimpanzee that his parents kept locked up in a closet under the staircase.
Eddie "Giggy" Brown was a skinny 4' 8", 75 lb. ten-year-old with big brown eyes and eyelashes that were the envy of his mother and every girl in town. He had a head full of unruly brown hair and a huge heart. Feeling sorry for people was his specialty. He loved to climb and could scramble of a tree like a squirrel. The rest of the gang wondered if he was a mutant with hidden claws.
Louie "Weasel" Dinkins was a wiry kid with shaggy red hair, beady green eyes, an extra long nose, and freckles. He looked like a red-headed Pinocchio. His eyes were always moving, a natural reflexive action from his compulsive need to steal.
Ricky "Rickets" Johanson was graced with pasty white skin, bushy brown hair, and the "shakes." He, Giggy and Weassel were similar in size and weight. Whenever he got excited, he shook like a rickety old building that was ready to collapse. Combing his hair was out of the question. Pomade couldn't compete with the shaking.
Last (but certainly not least) was our girl, Trudy Campbell, who was the belle of the gang. If the boys ever called her that, she'd sock them. They couldn't even call her pretty. At 5' and 75 lbs., the eleven-year-old with the blonde pageboy and gangly legs was one tough girl.