We all have moments where we wish to go back in time and savor a friendship, a special event or our first love.

In this delightful book about coming of age in Downey, California, the author, called Billy in the 1950s, re-creates his unique childhood. For instance, halfway up the block was a magical tree. To an adult, it may have appeared ordinary, but its branches were a refuge where Billy pondered the trials of boyhood. There, like butterflies waltzing on the summer breeze, he fell in love with ten-year-old Patty.

In the backyard of his friend, Dave, they dug World War I trenches, grew corn so high they couldn't see over it, and plied their imaginations to convert their shack into a pirate ship or general store.

Dave and Billy were also serious cowboys, replete with cap pistols slung from both hips, ten-gallon hats resting on their ears, and Winchester rifles carved from scrap wood.

Relive the magic of being a youngster struggling toward maturity with the whimsical, funny, and occasionally philosophical stories lurking in Zerbo Health Remover and other childhood reminiscences.