HOWARD DOWN-HOME

About the Book

Howard Down-Home is the true story of an American life. The author writes about his life while growing up on a farm in rural eastern North Carolina. From his earliest days he became familiar with corn, tobacco, cotton, chickens, hogs, cattle, mules and all kinds of farm machinery. There were days of fun and days of hard work.

Fun days included riding his bicycle across the open fields on frozen snow. There were days of exploring the woodlands alone near his home. There were trips into the woods to pick huckleberries. There were nights spent sleeping out in the open during summer and creative ideas employed in catching chickens for market.

Hard workdays were those spent in the tobacco fields pulling green tobacco leaves for drying. Long days were spent in the cornfields loading dry ears of corn into a mule-drawn cart for transportation to the corncrib. There were hot days spent in the top of a tobacco barn hanging tobacco for drying. And there were long days behind mule-drawn plows preparing land for planting and cultivating young crops.

After the farm the author tells about his four years in the United States Air Force. The military offered a very different way of life, one the author found interesting, humorous, adventurous, and enriching. His travels with the Air Force took him to many different stations and adventures.

Upon leaving the military the author decided to train to become a professional educator. After completing his educational training to the doctoral level he spent 34 four years in education where he served as a teacher and administrator at all levels of education from kindergarten to the university graduate level. The adventures, people and experiences the author encountered during a long personal voyage are shared in this true story of an American life, a life that took advantage of opportunities in the land of the free.