{"product_id":"9781087978666","title":"Growing Up Buske: A Collection of Memories","description":"\u003cp\u003eAt the age of seventy, my dad sat down at his desk with a yellow pad of\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epaper and began writing stories--stories of growing up on a farm and\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eattending a one-room schoolhouse (Dad graduated top in his class. The only\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eother eighth grader came in second!) He wrote of his life in the army, of\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003emeeting and marrying my mom, and raising a family on a farm of his own.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe spent the next eleven years adding to his book of stories, sharing them\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewith anyone who would listen.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was New Year's Day, 2014, when my folks, Sis, and I had our final lunch\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003etogether (We grew up calling the noon meal dinner and the evening meal\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esupper. Lunch was served when you had family over on Saturday night, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003earound 9:00 PM, but I digress.) Dad passed away suddenly later that day, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand the job of telling stories passed to me. Initially, writing these stories\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003edown was a way to grieve him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe project grew and the stories kept coming, especially on evenings Mom\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand I spent at her new home \"in town\". Life on the farm without Dad wasn't\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe same, and, anyway, she'd grown tired of mowing the grass. Then, on\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNew Year's Day, just six years after Dad, Sis and I lost Mom. Our folks had\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003edone everything together for sixty years; I guess we shouldn't have been\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esurprised.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn these pages you'll find stories that celebrate our family, memories of what\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eseem like more innocent years, and tales of growing up in rural Illinois.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey are a collection, some from those yellow pad pages of Dad's, some\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efrom the quiet evenings reminiscing with Mom, most from the memories\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003estill clear in my mind.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mark Buske","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48534506897649,"sku":"9781087978666","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0674\/5433\/7265\/files\/9781087978666_p0.jpg?v=1786367657","url":"https:\/\/shop.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781087978666","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble","version":"1.0","type":"link"}