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She has a good memory of people and events, which are woven into a story that reads like a novel. Lynne Cheney does a great job of capturing the feelings and atmosphere of the 1950s.
This book is a wonderful intimate peek into their lives and I thank her for sharing. I purchased two copies - one for myself and one for a friend who grew up in Blue Skies/No Fences country. We both have thoroughly enjoyed reading this account of the western way of life that helped define the values of this lovely lady and her husband.
A handful of black-and-white photographs dot this nostalgic and loving tribute to Lynne's family, the havens of small town life, and the America of yesteryear. Of especial interest is the glimpse through the lens of time of a young daredevil of the Alcova Dam spillway/impromptu water slide who would grow up to be the man Lynne married. Blue Skies, No Fences: A Memoir of Childhood and Family captures the reminiscences of Lynne Cheney, the wife of Vice President Dick Cheney and blends them with true tales of American dreams. Offering a spotlight on the small Wyoming prairie town of Casper, Blue Skies, No Fences tells of exuberant young girls, boys who hunted and fished, and strong-willed family women.
You didn't have to worry about racism.you kept the black (or brown) people on their side of the tracks if you even had any minorities in your community. If people knew you were beating (or sexually abusing) your children or wife, they certainly gossiped about it but never did anything to help. Molesters we told to "leave town", but never prosecuted.
Sure, life was great if you totally conformed to the community standards and never had a family problem. Having a bastard child (the term single mother didn't exist back then) would have really put the icing on the cake. While we all have our nostalgic memories of growing up in a small town in the 50's and 60's some of the realities were not so pleasant and certainly don't make me want to return to that time.
The other nasty items I recall in my childhood in a small town was that people knew there was child abuse, molestation, and wife-beating going on but nobody ever said (except gossip) or did anything about it. Life was not that great back then. If Mrs.
Cheney had been an adult with a lesbian daughter back then, they would have been the town's pariahs.
She offers many thoughtful insights both on "our times" then as well as now. Since my husband and I (and my Mother) grew up in the same area this was a wonderful trip down memory lane.
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