Part 95: Bonnie & Clyde
Two years ago, I found out about a plan Riley hatched. He wanted to get back together with Jan and leave town.
Part 83: Houseguest & The Encyclopedia of Folk Music
My father said that part of his encyclopedia of folk music was burned in a fire, and that he'd have to start all over. Was it true?
Part 23: "He Enjoyed Tricking People," She said.
Here's what I grapple with. Did my father believe his lies sometimes, or lie so often that he became confused about reality?
Part 21: Live and In Person: Famous, Beautiful, and Talented.
Riley was young in the mid-1940s. New York offered him many fantastic opportunities to find work and meet new people.
Part 20: WWll, Chicago, and Those Wacky Lectures
Dad was in his early 20s when the war broke out, healthy as a horse, tall, handsome, articulate. So why didn't he serve in that war?
Part 17: Riley's Early 20s and His Journal: A Look Back
“They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by...
Part 16: Women, a Nudist Lawyer, Colonel Tom Parker, and Hillbillies.
My Dad introduced me to Colonel Tom Parker, telling Parker that it was my 16th birthday."Oh? Sweet sixteen and never been kissed?"
Part 10: Riley's Real Troubles Begin
Reading through the reports from The Eastern Carolina Industrial Training School for Boys, I noticed a dramatic change in tone after the...
Part Nine: "Looking For Good Christian Men Who Have a Strong Interest in Boys..."
I was nervous and had trouble focusing when I entered the Wilson Library to study the place where my Dad was sent when he was a kid.
Part 8: Things Boys Got In Trouble For in the Early 1900s
I found this list of habits and offenses that could categorize a kid as a delinquent back in the 1920s. The list was in a pamphlet at the...