Rick D. Niece, Ph.D., is an award-winning author, life-long educator and university president. Niece's memorable Fanfare for a Hometown Series, Side-Yard Superhero (Book I) and The Band Plays On (Book II), allows readers of all ages to drift softly back to an age of innocence and nostalgia. Throughout this poignant journey, he pays tribute to small-town America and the triumph of the human spirit. These automythographies will produce laughter, tears, and joy of memories shared.
"I have the pleasure of reading over 200 books a year, and while
2012 gave birth to some great titles, SIDE-YARD SUPERHERO became a
favorite of mine from the moment I began devouring it. It's not
simply a look at some amazing individuals. It's a look at what all
of us can be, and that is what made it one of the top books of the
year for me. Simply a joy to read and discuss, and I know others
will feel the same way." --Cyrus A. Webb, Media Personality
Superheroes come in many sizes and shapes. For Rick Niece, his hero
came confined in a wheelchair. "Side-Yard Superhero" is the
coming-of-age tale of the friendship that emerged between a nine
year old, small town paper boy and the most special of the 72
customers on his route, Bernie Jones. Bernie, crippled with
cerebral palsy at birth, sits in the side yard of his home each day
(weather permitting) waiting for the newspaper. For nine years, six
days a week, Rick Niece stops and reads Dick Tracy to his special
customer before refolding the paper and delivering it to Bernie,
placing it gently in his lap. The week before he leaves their small
town of Degraff, Ohio, for "the big city" and college, Rick
promises his now close friend Bernie that he'll be back to visit.
But "life happens." Six years later, Rick goes looking for Bernie.
But Bernie's house has been torn down, Bernie is gone, and no one
in Degraff knows where. "Side-Yard Superhero" follows Rick Niece's
search for Bernie, culminating in a surprising and sobering
reconnection and reunion. Rick Niece has written a beautiful story
beautifully. A few times I laughed out loud. Several times I
stopped, closed the book and just remembered - remembered my own
growing up. Almost as a 'by the way', "Side-Yard Superhero" is
sprinkled with poems, also written by Rick Niece, poems that are
light yet thoughtful, poems with lines such as "And even if you are
both no longer what you were, you are each as you should be
remembered." That verse is going into my next love letter to my
husband. And "Side-Yard Superhero" is going on my 'keeper'
bookshelf.--Jane Allen Petrick for Readers' Favorite
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