Red Beans and Rainbows

In this comic account of his familys misadventures during the Depressionof the 1930s, author S. L. Varnado proves the truth of Mark Twainsobservation that the essence of comedy is tragedy. Contending that theDepression was not the gloomy period portrayed by historians, Varnadoturns the spotlight of humor on such fantastic events as the night thepossum fell on his mothers head, his fathers imaginary bouts of catatonia,his uncles hair breath escape from a maddened bull and the adventuresof Bicycle Man, super hero extraordinaire. Integrating historical footagewith comic personal narrative, Varnado creates a fresh interpretation ofan important era in our history.