Growing up on the wrong side of the river in raw and raucous Dallas at mid-century, a young man finds himself again and again in places he should not be, where decisions have to be made about mending errant ways or breaking the law, about continuing in school or going to work, and about listening to the voice of God or the songs of Nina Simone.

Jim Harris has been the Director of the Lea County Museum in Lovington, New Mexico, since 2002. Harris taught college English in Louisiana, Texas, and New Mexico. He is a writer, photographer, and fanatical fisherman. Harris is the author of several books and numerous articles, reviews, and photo essays. A past-president of the Texas Folklore Society, he has served on many boards, including the New Mexico Humanities Council and the Historical Society of New Mexico. For over 25 years he has written weekly columns for the newspapers, the Hobbs News Sun and the Lovington Leader.