Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Bud & Me: Book Review

Why hello there!  It has been a while since I've sat down at the old typewriter.  It's actually a tad rusty.
Though I will have more intriguing content soon, today I am going to be filling you in on a fabulous book I've just finished.

"Bud & Me", by Alta Abernathy is not a New York Time's Best Seller.  It's not a widely-known book, but perhaps it should be--especially in Southwest Oklahoma.  Bud & Me is the fascinating story of two boys from Frederick, Oklahoma.  Bud and Temple are 9 and 5 when they go on their first of six adventures.  Their first adventure leads them from rural southwest Oklahoma to Santa Fe, New Mexico on horseback in the year 1909.

Their are several crazy things about this story.  First, these little boys were barely old enough to multiply numbers, much less take care of each other in the desserts of New Mexico alone.  Also, much of the U.S. was unsettled in the year 1909.  This was the times of cowboys and indians and outlaws--not the safest terrain for young boys.

Despite the odds these young men went on journey after journey all across the United States in all different forms of transportation--all in the name of adventure!

Though I am definitely not a history buff, I found this book fascinating.  The whole time I was reading it I was giggling, gasping and jumping out of my chair.  The book really captures the heart of adventure in an interesting, funny and historically accurate way.  By the time I finished the book I was ready to plan a road trip across the country with whoever was willing.

I think the theme of the book is to forget fear and go after the journey for the fun of it.

The book is a very quick read; only containing 7 chapters.  Temple tells the stories from his 5-9 year-old point of view, yet he is around 80 when he is recalling these memories.


In Frederick we have an Abernathy Boys celebration in June, and a museum exhibit in honor of these boys.  We also have a nice bronze (?) statue of the boys on our courthouse lawn.  I grew up hearing about the boys, but it was the book that really made it real to me.  These youngsters were legitimate celebrities from the 1900's--and they were more courageous than any young boys I have ever known.

Although the Abernathy Boys are a huge stake for Frederick, Oklahoma--I still feel this is a great book for anyone to read, more specifically 20-somethings.  We read BuzzFeed and EliteDaily all the time.  Articles tell us to fulfill our bucketlist and make memories while we are young and wild and free.  I thought I was doing a pretty good job of this, but Bud & Me puts the word "adventure" in a whole new category for me.  They face their fears and tough the roughest before they are old enough to obtain a driver's license.  Bud and Temple make me feel like I have a whole lot of catching up to do if I want to live the adventurous life in similar fashion.

Amazon sells the book for $20 new and the Frederick Chamber office sells it for $22.  That's not a bad price for the story you are getting out of this deal.  Take a chance on Bud & Me, you won't be disappointed!

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