Customer Reviews

The Side-Yard Superhero (Life in Degraff: An Automythography)

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(In the interest of full disclosure, I'm going to tell you that Rick Niece is my boss at the University of the Ozarks. However, I'm not writing this review to suck up (lol); if I didn't like the book, I would just fall back on the nice, vague, noncommittal smile whenever anyone mentioned it....)

There's a song I enjoy by Rob Thomas with lyrics that include "Our lives are made in these small hours/ These little wonders, these twists and turns of fate/ Time falls away but these small hours/ These small hours still remain." As I finished reading The Side-Yard Superhero, those lyrics came to mind, because this book is a celebration of the "small hours" that make up our lives and of how memory keeps those small hours with us.

Nothing all that extraordinary happened to the author when he was young, and that's exactly what makes this story extraordinary. Niece is a good storyteller with a talent for observing the little details. He uses those details to frame truths about life, sometimes stated, sometimes implicit. My favorite chapters in the book were the ones about the carnival that came to DeGraff. There are several small stories imbedded in that larger story, including a very touching account of how Rickie and his friends tried to help Bernie Jones experience the carnival - in some ways, they succeeded, but in other ways, they failed. I also liked but was sort of saddened by the story of Rickie's trip to the "Nature's Oddities" tent. My favorite bit, though, was Niece's description of watching his parents ride the merry-go-round together: "It's nice when your parents are in love and not afraid to show it." Again, he's hit on one of those unimportant little moments in life that mean everything.

The story of Rickie's relationship with Bernie underscores the importance of the small moments in life. Toward the end of the story, as Rickie is maturing, we come to see through his eyes that those moments we all take for granted were monumental for Bernie, restricted as he was by the physical limitations he faced.

The book has brief chapters that would be just right for a read-aloud experience, and Niece has a distinctive and sincere voice. At the end, I did have a feeling similar to one I had at the end of the "Return of the King" movie -- several times I thought the story had come to an end, only to find there was a little more.

Happy I am that I can sincerely recommend this book -- with no sucking up involved!

I laughed. I cried. I did not want to put it down. An extraordinary story by an incredible writer.

Inspired by small town nostalgia and precious memories, Dr. Rick D. Niece takes the reader on a delightful journey of fond memories of friendship that will not only tug at your heart, but will make you laugh, and cry. Bernie, confined to a wheelchair with cerebral palsy, became Rick's best friend. He teaches Rick about human spirit, compassion, and trust. A lifetime adventure begins between two young boys in a small town, where morals and values reflected on the kind of person we would like to be. A small town in Ohio existed where many children spread their wings and left the nest, but it was also admired as the perfect place to come home. I highly recommend "SIDE-YARD SUPERHERO:Life Lessons From An Unlikely Teacher" to all those who enjoy stories that are filled with inspiration and sentiment, and for people with disabilities, and their loved ones. The author penned a touching, heartfelt story on true friendship, loyalty, and life's best lessons. Rick and Bernie share an unbreakable bond of friendship in a picture-perfect childhood, where precious memories are treasured forever. This book is a magnificent work of nonfiction, based on true friendship, boyhood memories, and life's unforgettable lessons. A refreshing remembrance of innocence, seen through the eyes of a hero.

Rick D. Niece recounts his time growing up in DeGraff, Ohio in The Side-Yard Superhero. In this first book of a trilogy, readers are introduced to some of the colorful characters of Niece's childhood, including a young man named Bernie Jones who is wheelchair bound due to cerebral palsy. Rick and Bernie become friends when Rick takes time on his paper route to really get to know Bernie.

I very much enjoyed getting to know the people of DeGraff through Rick Niece's memories. Each of the people that the reader meets along the way had some sort of impact on Niece's life and helped shape him into the man he is today. The stories flow easily, as if the reader is actually listening to Niece remember. He easily conveys the warm feelings that he continues to carry for these people and this town.

Interspersed with the stories are poems. These poems demonstrate strongly how large of an impact these people had on Niece's life as he searches for some universal truths or meanings in the experiences they shared.

The Side-Yard Superhero is a wonderfully written memoir and a fantastic beginning to a trilogy. I am looking forward to the next two installments and learning more about the folks in DeGraff.

This a wonderful read. Regardless of your age it will take you "home" and recall the true "good old days". You will want to talk to the author when through and tell him thanks for writing this book and letting us share a portion of his childhood.

The Side-Yard Superhero by Rick Niece is awesome! I'm an old DeGraff girl myself and knew almost all of the characters and where everything took place. Rick brought back so many memories with his well written description of events and people. I couldn't put the book down until I had it completely read all at once!

I grew up with Rick and his family in DeGraff. Everyone knew him because he was one of five Bellefontaine Examiner paperboys. His father was THEE music teacher at the school. My sister and I sang for and learned to play musical instruments and piano from Lewie Niece. And I played ball with Rick and his brother Jeff. Rick mentions my Mom, Mrs. Keenan (Keenen) in the book a few times. She and my dad are very elderly now and are in assisted living in Columbus. They received a "signed" copy of Rick's book and thoroughly enjoyed reading it as did I. I am amazed at Rick's recall of details. His clear descriptions of events, places and people brought back all of those great memories of our childhood in DeGraff in the 50's and 60's. I remember Rick as being very "creative" and somewhat independent. I'm not surprised at the quality of his wrting and his success as an educator and college president. Thanks, Rick. I look forward to reading more of your books!

It was truly a time like none other. "The Side-Yard Superhero" is Rick D. Niece providing a snapshot of a lost time - the time of childhood. Through his writings, his text hopes readers will look back and reflect on their own childhoods and remember to embrace them even in their adult life. A vivid picture of small town America, "The Side-Yard Superhero" is a treasure that shouldn't be missed.

The Side-Yard Superhero by Rick Niece is a delightful book that takes you back to small town living in simpler days when you knew your neighbors and you could leave your front door unlocked for the paper boy to deliver your newspaper. When Rick was just four, he moved with his family to the small town of DeGraff, Ohio (population of about 900). He found a sense of community and friendship there that solidified who he was and his experiences shaped his character. When Rick was 9 years old, he became a paperboy which were coveted jobs at this time as there were only 4 paper routes in DeGraff. He kept this job for 9 years until he left to go to college at The Ohio State University. During those 9 years, he got to know the neighbors along his route and made many special friendships. The most important one was with Bernie Jones, a young boy with cerebral palsy who was confined to a wheelchair. Bernie would wait for Rickie, as he called out to him in his side yard every day he delivered the newspaper. Rickie would read Dick Tracy and other comics to Bernie daily. I was impressed at how much compassion and empathy Rickie had as a young boy with Bernie. This was a true friendship and it may have been the only friendship that Bernie had ever had. Rickie became close to many customers over the years and they were all sad to see him turn over the route to his brother when he went off to college.

As a reader, you get the feel of this small town life during the 50's and 60's and Mr. Niece shares many stories and experiences from his childhood. I enjoyed the stories related to his years as a paperboy who delivered the paper 6 days a week accompanied by his faithful dalmatian dog, Lady. These were the days when you actually knew your paper boy and left the envelopes with your payment inside your screen door. One of my favorite stories was when Rickie and his friends took Bernie in his wheelchair to the town carnival. Bernie experienced the fun house, the food and had a blast with the kids as any kid would experience at a carnival. There was even a surprise in store for him that I won't give away.

It made me wish that young children today would have opportunities and freedoms such as being a paper boy. Also, that they would have a greater sense of community and maybe even learn more compassion through these type of experiences.

"That quick/That complex/That simple/That's Life." This last line from one of Niece's poems, which are included in this book, could be the tagline for this nostalgic American memoir. It expresses the sentiment Niece that puts into his stories of growing up in a small town in the 50's and 60's. It also captionizes the boyhood friendship at the heart of this work: between Niece--a professor's son--and Bernie, a boy with severe cerebral palsy.

When Rick--during his daily paper route--met Bernie, it didn't seem that he had much in common with the wheelchair-bound, only child; but from a shared interest in Dick Tracy, a friendship was sparked. Through Rick's eyes we get to know the gentle soul who was trapped by his physical limitations, who spent much of his day in his side-yard, watching the world go by; Rick's visits being one of the few things Bernie had to look forward to. As special outings for Bernie were rare, the poignancy with which Niece recaptures these occasions will make the reader at once sad and glad for Bernie as he experiences a few of life's enjoyments. At the carnival when Bernie looks up at the Ferris wheel, we see how he longs to have the freedom most of us take for granted, yet bravely lives his life without complaining.

The rest of the book introduces us to various neighbors and townsfolk who had an influence on Niece. He recounts the small kindnesses and good advice, humorous incidents and heart-felt attachments of his childhood. He tells his story sweetly and cleanly, and gives us a feel of what it was like to grow up in a small neighborly community fifty years ago. Rick himself seems like a stellar, upright kid, and readers will enjoy spending time with him.

Childhood memories and circumstances stay with a person forever, and this book reminds us that a rich, caring community can make all the difference in people's lives. As it says in his poem: "Small towns are like an older brother/a favorite aunt and uncle..."

The poems (among them: Long Ago, A Figment of My Youth, and Remember Me), keep with the themes of memory keeping, time passing, growing and change. This is Book One in the trilogy Life in Degraff: an Automythography. This reader is looking forward to revisiting Degraff in Book two.