Dear readers, tonight with us is a boy on the cusp of teenagehood, growing up in a US small town while WWII rages on.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

[Interviewer’s note:  Paul glances away, begins fidgeting] Well, I’m not sure I want to talk about that. But since you asked, I was born on a wheat farm in Wyatt County, Oklahoma, though I got out of there as soon as I could. I guess I can’t really take credit for the escape, as those circumstances sort of fell in my lap.

So, you’re asking about life on a farm in the 1940s. Every day, and I mean every day, starts a couple of hours before dawn. Feeding the livestock, milking cows, repairing whatever just broke. And staying ahead of all sorts of things that can stunt the growth of the wheat. Then on school days, you get sidetracked for hours on end with a bunch of worthless gobbledygook, come back home, and pick-up where you left off until sundown. On a farm, it’s all about the crop, end of story. Maybe next year there will be time for fun. But realistically, probably not.

Did you have any favourite toys as a child? Any cherished memories?

Toys? Yeah right. Like we could actually afford stuff like that. Sorry, toys weren’t in the budget, other than my comic book collection, that is. I did get a new fishing pole one Christmas, and Grandpa and I trotted it out as often as we could. For fly fishing, that is, not that other sport where everyone gets their hands filthy messing with live bait. I do have a lot of memories of Grandpa . . . and my brother, Tim, of course. Both gave me tons of advice, wanted or otherwise, but I suppose most of it was worth hearing. Jake, on the other hand, he didn’t waste time on advice. He wasn’t like most fathers, in that way at least. In other ways too, if we’re counting. And then, of course, there’s Momma, who died when I was young. But I don’t want to talk about that.

What do you do now?

Well, I eventually ended up in some line of work that I’d never even heard of back on the farm. Never saw that coming. But I suppose I was always fond of math even though most of my classmates poked fun. My fault that they even knew about that, as I usually keep such things to myself. You know, just to blend in. There’s a lot to be said for blending in when you live in some corner of nowhere.

What can you tell us about your biggest adventure?

I’ve gotta be careful here as I don’t want to get ahead of myself. But I will say that we had plenty of ups and downs not long after my fourteenth birthday. For starters, I thought we were actually going to starve. Hand to heart, I didn’t see how we were going to get by. Even Jake was scared; I could see it in his eyes. But the way we climbed out of that hole, now that was something else. I guess I can say this much. Things took an . . . unexpected . . . turn. Some would say for the better; others would say that anyone who felt that way was certifiably crazy. At any rate, I wasn’t remotely prepared for the changes. None of us were. But we did the best that we could. Looking back, I just wish we’d have done some things differently.

Tell us a little about your friends.

This one’s easy. I’ve got exactly one real friend, but it’s a good one. Teddy and I are inseparable. We’ve been like two peas in a pod for longer than I can remember, and he just seems to get me in ways that no one else can come close to. He’s got a bum leg, I should mention, so I’ve gotta be patient sometimes. And that’s not his only challenge. His Pa is a drunk, a real mean one at that. Teddy’s always showing up at school with a new bruise on his jaw or a fresh cut above his eye. He doesn’t like to talk about that, so I try to give him some space. Oh, I almost forgot. His older brother just shipped off to Europe to fight Hitler. One more thing for Teddy to fret about.

Any romantic involvement?

Like with a girl? Okay, I’ll say a couple of things, but you gotta write this down exactly as I say it. To be honest, I hadn’t given that stuff much thought, until recently, that is. And the pickings in Wyatt County weren’t exactly great, if you know what I mean. But I did finally meet someone who was, how do I say it . . . different, and I mean that in a good way. Amy was about the prettiest thing I’d ever seen. We met on the first day of 9th grade and connected almost instantly. I mean, I didn’t really know how to talk to a girl, and she’d clearly had more practice. But I just figured it out as we went. [Interviewer’s note:  long pause] If we’re being honest, and I mean really honest, I suppose I still think about her. Okay, I think about her a lot, actually.

Whom (or what) do you really hate?

Well, Grandpa might have some thoughts about that question. I can almost hear him saying something like, “Paul, hate what they do, hate what they say, but don’t hate the person.” Okay, maybe that works some of the time, but I’m going to name some exceptions. Teddy’s Pa, for sure. He’s top of the list. In a perfect world, he’d be in prison. Then there’s Jeremy, a student from my other school. But I won’t get into that now.

Whom do you feel that you don’t understand?

Well, a lot of people, I suppose. But keeping it close to home, Jake is a complete mystery. Always has been, always will be. Grandpa tries to take up for him, claims he’s just a loner who keeps to himself. But there’s way more to it than that. I mean, I know he’s gotta be lonely. We all miss Momma, a lot. But loneliness doesn’t come close to explaining whatever is going on with Jake. Not by a longshot.

And I suppose I should mention Tim as well. It’s not that I don’t understand my older brother. It’s that I don’t understand how easily things come to certain people. I mean, he’s great at almost anything he tries, and I’m not just talking about football where he’s clearly a star. If someone gets to decide who to pass out such gifts to, Tim won the frickin’ lottery. As for me, I wasn’t even in the right line.

What’s your favourite pastime?

Another easy one. I love comic books. I’ve built a second-hand collection over the years, and I’ve learned something along the way. You can’t read a comic book too many times. You just can’t. I think Jake doesn’t think very highly of that, sort of like fishing, I guess. But a fella’ can’t help what he likes.

What does the future hold for you?

Wish I knew the answer to that one. For the longest time, I just figured that Tim and I would follow in Jake’s footsteps, that eventually we’d be running the farm. But then everything got turned on its head in a way we never imagined. Now, I’ve got no clue. One thing I’m certain about, though. That future no longer includes the farm, and you’ll get no complaints from me about that.

Can you share a secret with us that you’ve never told anyone else?

Nice try. When it comes to secrets, I’m not at all like Teddy. He can’t keep a secret to save his life, and I learned that the hard way more than once. So I don’t share secrets anymore. I reckon I’m more like Jake in that regard. I’m certain he’s got plenty of secrets, and between us, I think Grandpa may have a couple himself.

A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Ken Steele holds degrees in Civil Engineering from Oklahoma State University and MIT. The Promise of Unbroken Straw is Ken’s debut novel, a work of historical fiction. He resides in Colorado with his wife of 42 years where his days are filled with skiing, pickleball, golf, hiking, and all that the mountains can offer.

You can find Paul on the pages of The Promise of Unbroken Straw.

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