Warren and Howie have been friends since they were six years old, neighbors in the mid-Fifties Missouri cotton town of Carlisle. Sharing more than a back alley, they grow up together in the town’s common nurture. Their differences lie in their backgrounds. Warren is the son of the local Methodist clergy, Howie, the son of a successful owner of what in those days was referred to as a roadhouse. These two families share not only a physical proximity, but a friendship which includes not only their sons but fathers as well. Growing up means becoming more and more aware of their town and its culture, but also with the adult realities with which their fathers wrestle everyday. The reader will see that as much as Carlisle is unique it is also an example of a Delta culture which supports its people day by day, through good times and bad. Come along then on a journey to maturity of both Howie and Warren as well as their fathers in a land where cotton shimmers in the blazing Southern sun and a whole community shelters in its shade. Before the story is finished readers will learn a lot, not only about two growing boys, their town and their fathers but hopefully about themselves and their values. PHILIP NIBLACK is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, Vanderbilt and Boston Universities. The child of a Methodist parsonage, he answered the call to the Pastorate at the age of 21. Blessed with a family heritage in the Ministry, he has served churches in small towns, suburbs and central cities. His hobbies include history and geography. He and his wife Adele make their home in suburban St. Louis.