Those Were the Days

About the Book

You are invited to return to the 1940s and 1950s with the author for a look at humorous events that happened in his life. Born and reared in San Augustine, Texas, life was truly in the slow lane. The Early Years – read about his first experience with chewing tobacco, and shooting his grandfather’s shotgun, raising a pet chicken, owning his first dog, and landing his first job. School Days – true stories of attacks by a goose, fishing with his coaches, and his initiation into high school, and a fight at school. College Years – working at a funeral home, a runaway cot, and experience with “white lightning”. Early Married Life – Burning his marriage license twice, a diddler on his roof, and go along on a lost weekend, read about the ditch nurse. Long Arm of The Law – Humorous incidents that happened while working as a police officer. Read about an embarrassing moment for the author, Baptist foxes, and dueling cops. A mail box in a cemetery causes questions. Home Town – Reminisce about a drive-in movie, a mystery drink, and catching a huge fish in a small pond. Finally, selling the old family house.

About the Author

Neal Murphy resides in his birthplace, San Augustine, Texas, with his wife Clara. He has two children, Kay Fatheree, a pastor’s wife now living in Abilene, Texas, and Douglas Murphy, a police officer in North Carolina, and has five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Neal earned a bachelor of business administration degree from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, and a master’s degree in insurance from the Insurance Institute of America. He also attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he studied religion courses. He is a deacon at a Baptist Church, has taught Sunday school classes, and directed church choirs for many years. He began his writing in 2005, and many of his short stories about his life growing up in a small Texas town have been published in Reminisce Magazine, Good Old Days Magazine, Looking Back Magazine, and the Town Square Magazine. He had a story included in Memories of Mother, a book published by Xulon Press. Another story was published in the book Dear Old Golden School Days published by the DRG Publishing Group. He published a book, From the Heart of a Country Preacher, by Xulon Press in 2006. His second book entitled Those Were the Days was published by Xlibris Inc. in 2007. In 2008 he published another book, The Psalms—From the Heart of a Country Preacher, by Xlibris Inc. He is a founding member of the Deep East Texas Literary Guild of San Augustine, Texas, founded in 2009. He has weekly stories in the San Augustine Tribune and the Toledo Chronicle, an online newspaper. He has a monthly story in the Shelby County Today online newspaper.