Me, Darst, and Alley Oop
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Darst slipped out the passenger side door and crouched beside Alley Oop in anticipation of the photo op that I was about to provide. Hating to disappoint him, I looked around for something to lure the bear closer. The only thing within reach was a road map, so I began to wave it out the window, all the while calling,“Here Bear! Here Bear!” Much to my surprise, it worked. The bear stopped, his ears perked up, he did an ursine pirouette, and here he came at full trot straight toward me. As bears go, he wasn’t much. Small, brown, and scraggly, he looked like he’d spent too much of his life raiding garbage dumps, or, as was his present mission, hitting on tourists for whatever he could get. Despite all that, I still didn’t want him in the car with me, particularly since I was the only food I had to offer. But as I frantically tried to roll up the window, the knob came off in my hand. Shit! I thought. I’m a goner.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Me, Darst, and Alley Oop is many things--a romp, an adventure, an odyssey, a coming of age tale, but mostly it is great good fun. A true story that frames the summer of 1964, it relates the cross country journey of two young men in their borrowed car, a hobbled and cobbled 1946 Dodge named Alley Oop.
Darst and Riggs, a mismatched pair of fraternity brothers from Indiana University, have little in common but the desire to leave it all behind and hit the open road for the golden shores of California, and the bouncing beach bunnies and boundless good times they hope to find there. Little do they know what hazards lies ahead or what it will take in resilience and fortitude, conflict and compromise, to make their dream come true. From the first day on, as they leave home and comfort behind with no cell phone or credit card and a hundred dollars between them in a car lately driven to its death, they are at odds with the elements and each other and can only succeed by forging ahead. Because, to return is to admit defeat, and thus cast a shadow over all future journeys of faith.
Told simply with wit and humor, Me, Darst, and Alley Oop takes an unvarnished look at the travelers, the journey, and the people they meet along their way. Its lessons come as revelations. With each new challenge, each new fork in the road, each new mountain high and valley low, Darst and Riggs learn a little more about themselves and each other, and the marvelous goodhearted country they are crossing. Never again will they undertake such a journey. Never again will the stars align. It’s either make or break with no points given for a nice try.
About the Author
John R. Riggs is the son of Samuel H. Riggs (1913–2002) and Lucille Ruff Riggs (1918–2000) and the brother of C. A. Riggs (Prescott, Arizona). John was born on February 27, 1945, in Beech Grove, Indiana, and in 1949, he and his family moved to Mulberry, Indiana, where they owned and operated Riggs Dairy Bar for a number of years. John attended Mulberry School (1951–1961) and graduated from Clinton Prairie High School in 1963. He credits his teachers at Mulberry and Clinton Prairie for their direction and inspiration and for grounding him in the fundamentals of thought and action so necessary for meeting the challenges of life. John then entered Indiana University, Bloomington, where he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and rode in the Little 500. While there, he earned a BS in social studies and an MA in creative writing. He later attended the University of Michigan, studying conservation and environmental communications. On September 2, 1967, John married Cynthia Perkins (1945–2002), and their children are Heidi Zimmerman (Mansfield, Ohio) and Shawn Riggs (Colorado Springs, Colorado). On July 1, 1988, he married Carole Gossett Anderson, and their children are Flint Anderson (Coatesville, Indiana) and Susan Shorter (Spencer, Indiana). Since 1971, John has lived in Putnam County, Indiana, currently on a small farm southeast of Greencastle. While in Putnam County, he has worked as an English teacher, football coach, quality control foreman, carpenter, and wood splitter. From 1979 to 1998, he assisted James R. Gammon of DePauw University with Gammon’s landmark research on the Wabash River. He recently retired from DePauw University Archives but continues to mix chemicals for Co-Alliance, Bainbridge. John is the author of seventeen published books in the Garth Ryland mystery series and the Bicentennial History bulletins for the Indiana United Methodist Church. He has also written River Rat, a coming-of-age novel; Of Boys and Butterflies, his ongoing memoirs; and numerous essays. Me, Darst, and Alley Oop, a travel odyssey, is his first extended work of nonfiction.