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Barefoot Through the Goathead Patch

This story takes place in a small town in California's Imperial Valley during the post-depression 1940s. A mischievous young boy overhears his mother tell his older brother that seeing a naked girl will cause him to go blind. His curiosity aroused, the boy embarks on a mission to discover what girls have hidden under their skirts that's so powerful merely seeing it causes blindness. His dilemma is how to accomplish this without going blind himself. Failing to obtain satisfactory answers from his peers, the boy turns to the "good old boys" who hang out at the local barbershop. Second only to the Picture Show, the barbershop provides the best entertainment in town and is the focal point of this story. The old farmers gather there to banter good-naturedly with the kids; baiting them into trying precarious stunts.

After entertaining themselves with the boy's misfortunes, "The Oracle," a man believed to have special powers, answers the boy's questions in rhyme, providing the barbershop crowd with what they enjoy most a good laugh. In the end, however, the laugh is on them when they find the answers to the boy's questions teaching them a "thing or two" about women.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 6, 2010

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Ken Jarman

1 book

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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Profile Image for Anna del C. Dye.
Author 43 books266 followers
July 23, 2013
Readers favorite review
As the title implies, this is a precocious little boy’s life from when he was a baby until much older. The style used by the author is fun and easy to follow.
Timothy tells how he learned about life when he, as a baby, believed that his cat had been cut into pieces when in reality the cat had had a litter of babies. The tiny creatures in the dark at his feet made him imagine the worst. His life continues with exciting tales of being run over by a goat tied to the chicken coop. Another of how he decides that onions would taste better cooked and starts a fire that almost blows up the oil tank and almost burns his house down. The entertaining way the author writes about Timothy’s life is refreshing and certainly draws you into the story and doesn’t let you go until it ends.
His life goes on, although you wonder at times how he makes it to adulthood especially after his father finds out that he and his brother have spent a day playing war and forgot to go to school.
Lets not forget the quest of the fairer sex. Yeah, that one started when he was about four and probably still continues. At six he decides to ask the old timers in town what makes girls so different from boys and between laughs and kidding Timothy gets wisdom from “The Oracle”, a man who all look up to in town. His instruction was a treasure piece that should be given to all men before their honeymoon or in our days when they turn ten. Many marriages would last longer if men took to their heart the teaching of this wise man. Timothy was more than lucky he was wise beyond his years, to have sought this man’s wisdom.
I can’t stop thinking of how young men today, who take the God given treasure of procreation as a pastime and never think of the girl they are using as a precious being, would benefit from this “Oracle’s” wisdom.
This book tickles your funny bone all throughout the pages, but it does have a few serious moments in it. It is a most precocious tale for young adults and adults alike.
Profile Image for Anna del C. Dye.
Author 43 books266 followers
November 1, 2010
As the title implies, this is a precocious little boy’s life from when he was a baby until much older. The style used by the author is fun and easy to follow.
Timothy tells how he learned about life when he, as a baby, believed that his cat had been cut into pieces when in reality the cat had had a litter of babies. The tiny creatures in the dark at his feet made him imagine the worst. His life continues with exciting tales of being run over by a goat tied to the chicken coop. Another of how he decides that onions would taste better cooked and starts a fire that almost blows up the oil tank and almost burns his house down. The entertaining way the author writes about Timothy’s life is refreshing and certainly draws you into the story and doesn’t let you go until it ends.
His life goes on, although you wonder at times how he makes it to adulthood especially after his father finds out that he and his brother have spent a day playing war and forgot to go to school.
Lets not forget the quest of the fairer sex. Yeah, that one started when he was about four and probably still continues. At six he decides to ask the old timers in town what makes girls so different from boys and between laughs and kidding Timothy gets wisdom from “The Oracle”, a man who all look up to in town. His instruction was a treasure piece that should be given to all men before their honeymoon or in our days when they turn ten. Many marriages would last longer if men took to their heart the teaching of this wise man. Timothy was more than lucky he was wise beyond his years, to have sought this man’s wisdom.
I can’t stop thinking of how young men today, who take the God given treasure of procreation as a pastime and never think of the girl they are using as a precious being, would benefit from this “Oracle’s” wisdom.
This book tickles your funny bone all throughout the pages, but it does have a few serious moments in it. It is a most precocious tale for young adults and adults alike.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews