Sister Superior's Thumb, the Pope's Ring and the End of Childhood

The author's first volume in the trilogy tells about his early youth starting with the Great Depression till the end of WWII. Volume II begins when he was thirteen and still in pursuit of what he loved best, youthful romances and wild adventures. Before reaching eighteen he'd had his fifteen minutes of fame, but not before encountering a variety of characters with switchblades, fists and loaded revolvers. Helping a couple of runaways put the author in harm's way, but even worse was an encounter with Sister Superior which eventually led him to becoming an escape artist. He was caught up with gang wars, love affairs and a striptease card game that could knock your socks off. After eleven years in grammar school the author finally graduated. He liked to physically show off, even to the point of hanging from tall tree branches by his toes. One Halloween evening he came up with a preposterous scheme that got so out of hand it took six police officers to hunt him down. His adventures were often dangerous but he always had the readiness to dare. Although his school life was disturbing, he had the patience to go the distance. More troubling was his love life. He always wound up disappointed, but while missing each girl he had the good fortune to believe that time was on his side.