Year of the Cat

By Tony Chiodo

Sonny Shiro was ten years old when Elvis turned 21 and sang Heartbreak Hotel. He had listened to music coming out of the little GE radio in the kitchen through countless meals: First there was the white bread stuff like the Andrew Sisters and Perry Como. Then, in the mid-50's, a new sound crept in with Bill Haley and the Comets, Chuck Berry, and the King, Elvis Presley. Clothes, hair, speech, all began to change, take on a rebellious air. Sonny took it all in and began to keep time with those songs on the kitchen table, slapping his hands furiously to the beat, the beat the beat.The sixties writhed with one convulsive wave after another: assassinations, civil right struggles, an ugly war and the radical transformation of culture and attitudes as the Beatles and the subsequent British Wave realigned music and expanded choices of recreational chemistry. The Lone Ranger gave way to the Twilight Zone, Star Trek and Laugh In. Sonny landed himself in a band by 1962, the Black Knights, their cool look defined by black pants, black shirt, white tie. Max, the charismatic blue-eyed blond lead guitarist was to become a lifelong friend and the lovely singer, Darcy Mancini would come and go in and out of his life like a shadow play.The band gave way to college, and more importantly, wanderlust. His worldly older pal, Serge, along with girlfriend, Margo, took Sonny under their wings and showed him versions of America he had never imagined, while the mysterious Melissa, student of Esoterica, the sybil of Montrose, sent him on his way with sage encouragement and dire warnings.The adventures piled up: Deranged by tequila in a Santa Fe cantina, shown the secrets of the Anasazi in Hovenweep, discovering a not yet famous Janis Joplin in San Francisco. UFO's in Big Bend, a Shangri La in the tropical fastness of a Mexican gorge, and drumming with the Apache.Through all of it the appearance of the cat manifested itself. Was he deluded by his fascination with Don Juan, the sorcerer, or had he found his ally? It came down to one desperate act.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1539988368
• ISBN13: 9781539988366
• Release Date: February 2018
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 220 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"