In this comic account of his family's misadventures during the Depression of the 1930s

author S. L. Varnado proves the truth of Mark Twain's observation that the essence of comedy is tragedy. Contending that the Depression was not the gloomy period portrayed by historians, Varnado turns the spotlight of humor on such fantastic events as the night the possum fell on his mother's head, his father's imaginary bouts of catatonia, his uncle's hair breath escape from a maddened bull, and the adventures of Bicycle Man, super hero extraordinaire.

Integrating historical footage with comic personal narrative, Varnado creates a fresh interpretation of an important era in our history.