Where the Angels Bow to the Grass: a Boy's Memoir

Ostensibly the story of a boy and his father, this look back at the late 1960's, through the decade of the 1970's, recalls a time when a sense of loyalty reigned, certainly in the world of the two main characters. Where the Angels Bow to the Grass, A Boy's Memoir, told through the eyes and the heart of a man who was indeed a boy at the time, gives the reader some genuine insight into what shaped the later writings of Thomas Porky McDonald. The importance of the game of baseball in the lives of McDonald and his father, Bill 'The Chief' McDonald, is constantly present, as is the deep and enduring connection that they share to this day. They called Bill McDonald 'The Chief' because he had been most clearly defined as a respected Chief Petty Officer during a thirty year career - twenty active, ten reserves - in the United States Navy. Where the Angels Bow to the Grass tells of the many joys he shared with his youngest child and only son, Thomas Porky McDonald. That boy, who would become a poet and writer, paints a loving portrait of life with his father, from the earliest moments of sharing ballgames together, through 'The Chief's' final, unsettling days. Chick full of heartfelt and thought provoking anecdotes, this book more than explains 'The Chief' as the main catalyst for McDonald's three volume 'Irishman's Tribute' series, as well as most of his baseball related poetry. McDonald also credits his mother, Marie and his older sisters, Patti, Ruthie and Nancy, for allowing him, as a young boy, to have such a special relationship with his father, without ever begrudging him or seeming envious or jealous. But it is fundamentally their story, that of the father and the son, which is told here in a most unique way, with representative poems about their time dressing up the chapters along the way. Though there have been other stories of fathers and sons, with and without a baseball connection, Where the Angles Bow to the Grass, A Boy's Memoir, is one that tries to honestly te