Nine Lives of Morris: Great Tales from One Cool Cat

Nine Lives of Morris: Great Tales from One Cool Cat! tells stories from Morris? varied life in the form of flash memoir, poetry and art. The thirty narratives recount episodes from his childhood in the Great Depression to his eighty-fifth birthday. Morris writes in the first person, present tense, to give the reader a feeling of immediacy. A dozen poems are free-standing or sprinkled into the prose. Forty of his original watercolors illustrate the 124-page book in full color. Four photographic montages picture various aspects of Morris career. The tone of these stories and pictures vary from insightful nostalgia to poignant drama to comic irony.From the first memoir about finding his biological father's family in Appalachia, to the last memoir about his gay marriage, the author hugs his reader. As a child Morris discovers many aspects of his personhood. Through experiences in the U. S. Army and World War II, Morris tells his tales of personal growth. Morris reveals his sorrow of soul upon his wife's fatal accident and his gay son Leonard's suicide. He shares the spiritual journey as a Seventh-day Adventist in raising up a church only to discover the difficulty in finding his own place there as a gay man. Morris shares the adventures of his retirement years when he joins the leather community with vigor and starts a new career as a watercolor artist. Even when diagnosed with cancer of the bone marrow, the author maintains his equilibrium and honesty. The nine disparate elements do not tear apart the protagonist. Rather than disintegrate, Morris thrives as he integrates his roles as a Child, Pianist, Artist, Soldier, Father, Missionary, Professor, Master and Leatherman.