Alabama Stories

Alabama Stories is the life of William "Billy" Johnson, a native Alabamian, told in a series of short stories over the course of 50 years.

In Prejudice, Billy meets a negro for the first time as a five-year-old and wonders why his father treats the man so differently from white men.

In Boone, Billy is an eight-year-old. He befriends an aging farmer in the backwoods of north Alabama, a man who has a psychotic love for his invalid wife.

In A Virtuous Woman, Billy is a witness to a vicious family feud between his mother, his aunt and his grandmother.

In Annie, Billy, at age eleven, and his cousin Roy love to "spy" on the tenants of their grandmother's rental houses. When Annie Atkinson comes along, they bite off more than they can chew.

In A Gil McDougald, Billy, at age 12, has the adventure of a lifetime while collecting baseball cards on the 1954 New York Yankees.

In Franklin's, Billy learns about bootlegging and politics in a small southern town.

Johnny Daytona tells a thirty-year saga about Billy and his hero-worship of one of the greatest pool players that ever lived.

Virgil is a born preacher and Billy's childhood friend; the only thing Virgil loved more than the Lord was black girls.

Charley tells how sometimes angels appear in the most unexpected of places.

Lenny is a lonely Jewish man who can't get over being jilted by his girlfriend.

In One Stupid Mistake, Bobby Worthington has the world on a string until one night when he does something stupid.

In Elaine, Billy meets his dream woman, falls in love and gets married.

In Reunion, old nightmares and new truths emerge at Billy's high school reunion.

In Trapping Rabbits Billy wonders why his father delayed the spring plowing to teach him how to trap a rabbit.

Grandfathers, the final story, is in two parts. The first part shows Billy with his own grandfather in 1945. The second part, fifty years later in 1995, shows Billy as a grandfather with his own grandson.

This unmissable collection delivers poignant insights into Billy's life. A compelling slice of Alabama life.