Kid on the Go!: Memoir of My Childhood and Youth

by Neill McKee

Overview

Kid on the Go! is Neill McKee's third work of creative nonfiction. It's a standalone prequel to his award-winning Finding Myself in Borneo. In this new book, McKee takes readers on a journey through his childhood, adolescence, and teenage years from the mid-40s to the mid-60s, in the small, then industrially-polluted town of Elmira, Ontario, Canada-one of the centers of production for Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. McKee's vivid descriptions, dialog, and self-drawn illustrations are a study of how a young boy learned to play and work, fish and hunt, avoid dangers, cope with death, deal with bullies, and to build or restore "escape" vehicles. You may laugh out loud as the author recalls his exploding hormones, attraction to girls, rebellion against authority, and survival of 1960s' "rock & roll" culture-emerging on the other side as a youth leader. After leaving Elmira, McKee describes his intensely searching university years, trying to decide which career path to follow. Except for a revealing postscript, the story ends when he accepts a volunteer teaching position on the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781732945753
Publisher:	Nbfs Creations LLC
Publication date:	08/16/2021
Pages:	290
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.61(d)

About the Author

Neill McKee is a creative nonfiction writer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His first travel memoir, Finding Myself in Borneo: Sojourns in Sabah has won three awards. His second travel memoir, Guns and Gods in My Genes: A 15,000-mile North American search through four centuries of history, to the Mayflower, is a deep dive into his ancestry, written in a refreshingly creative way. McKee holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Calgary and a master's degree in Communication from Florida State University. He worked internationally for 45 years, becoming an expert in the field of communication for social change. He directed and produced a number of award-winning documentary films/videos, popular multimedia initiatives, and has written numerous articles and books in the field of development communication. During his international career, McKee was employed by Canadian University Service Overseas (CUSO); Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC); UNICEF in Asia and Africa; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland; Academy for Educational Development and FHI 360, Washington, D.C. He worked and lived in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Uganda, and Russia for a total of 18 years and traveled to over 80 countries on short-term assignments. In 2015, he settled in New Mexico, using his varied experiences, memories, and imagination in creative writing.

Table of Contents

1. Odiferous Ontario Origins - 1

2. Stories of Elmira and Going Elsewhere - 17

3. First Dreams of Africa - 35

4. Going Fishing with Surplus Sons - 47

5. On Guns, Religion, and Rituals - 61

6. Final Departures - 77

7. Breaking Out - 91

8. Perpetual Motion - 103

9. Proving Ground - 111

10. Girls, Hormones, and Bullies - 123

11. End of My Bloody Early Adolescence - 137

12. Canadian Graffiti - 155

13. Travels with Holden Caulfield - 179

14. The Times They Are A-Changin' - 185

15. Existential Leaps - 205

16. Call of the Wild Goose - 223

17. A Chinook Wind Arrives - 233

Postscript: Closing the Circle - 249

About the Author - 272

Editorial Reviews

Kid on the Go! is an honest, engaging, and sometimes humorous story that contains just the right amount of detail. It's a thought-provoking memoir of childhood and youth that drew me right in. McKee is an expert storyteller with a great sense of humor. - Crystal Otto, book blogger and reviewer, Reedsville, Wisconsin, USA

In Kid on the Go!, the author takes us back to his childhood where he discovers the strange features of his hometown of Elmira, Ontario, Canada. Enriched with details, including clever artwork by the author himself, along with family photographs, this memoir is both funny and insightful, clever and thought-provoking. -Nicole Pyles, writer, Portland, Oregon, USA worldofmyimagination.com

In Kid on the Go!, Neill McKee gives us well-told accounts of the pollution in the town, but tells humorous stories about his family, his teachers, his adolescent misadventures, his encounters with the 1960s counterculture, and his developing intellectual interests. - Bill Exley, retired English teacher, London, Ontario, Canada

I think this memoir is more than about venturing out in a geographical sense. It is about seeking new experiences, venturing out in a social sense, forming and valuing relationships with the stranger, the marginalized, and those who think differently. - Bruce Williamson, also now a senior "kid on the go," Port Hope, Ontario, Canada

Neill McKee has the ability to explain life's experiences in a way I can easily relate to. When I read about McKee's early adventures, I experienced a lot of reborn fun, joy, and memories of the projects my friends and I created with nothing but imagination and inspiration. - Charles Mann Rolison, retired, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

While this saga is an amusing trip down memory lane, it is also an intense drama of an unfolding life. In the last chapters and the postscript, we learn about the factors that led the author to an international career, traveling to Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and living in seven diverse countries. -Ken Frey Ed. D., retired management consultant, Milton, Ontario, Canada

Kid on the Go! does an impressive thing, it uses naive illustrations to tell an ever-evolving story of growth and maturation. Neill McKee covers his early life in approachable prose and conversational storytelling. The illustrations that accompany these anecdotes are similarly plucky, sketchy, and approachable. That juxtaposition is really captivating. -Dav Yendler, illustrator, Los Angeles, California, USA www.davyendler.com

People who grew up in small town North America in the 40s, 50s and early 60s, when kids had freedom to roam the countryside, exploring its side roads, creeks, rivers, and woods, will find themselves snickering and laughing out loud as memories of their own youth pour forth. -Gwenda McCurdy, avid reader, Brampton Ontario, Canada

From the Publisher