Finding My Thunder 1
1966
Christmas vacation of my sophomore year. I had finally reached a two week reprieve from the hallowed halls of Bondville High in Tennessee. I was too cold to drag my feet but as I neared home I could see it laying by the gate to our front yard, an old dog, a sooner. She rose up seeing me, but there was no challenge in her, just a sorrowful look, hoping I could decide her fate quick.
I set my books on the ground and knelt beside her and introduced myself. “Hey old girl,” I said. “How you doin’? I’m Hilly Grunier. Yeah that’s a good old girl. Sooner be one thing than another.” I gave her some love and she lifted her white muzzle and closed her eyes like her ears hadn’t been scratched in a long time. She had a grateful soul. But here came Sukey Boyd.
He barreled past in his purple Fairlane and Sooner cringed. I paid that car no mind, and I told her she shouldn’t either, but I wondered for a second if Danny was riding shotgun like usual and if he saw me kneeling there, and I wondered if he’d think about it…about me. And I let his indifference stab me all over again and I knew I’d let this old dog in.
“Hey, come on,” I said opening the wobbly gate, not that she couldn’t have come in on her own beneath this rickety fence. But she was polite, I knew that. So I let her wait on the porch and when I entered the hallway Mama was not downstairs, but I didn’t expect it. So I crossed the hall and went in the kitchen.
There wasn’t much. Naomi lived behind in the carriage house and brought supper like as not. But we had a pack of hot dogs been in there too long. They smelled okay. So I put them on a paper plate and took them outside.
Finding My Thunder Description:
The story takes place in the late sixties. Hilly Grunier has been in love with Danny Boyd since she was a kid telling scary stories on summer nights at the fire hydrant while Danny pulled close on his bike. But when Danny is thirteen, their friendship ends when he and his brother Sukey have a vicious fight over Hilly.
Years pass, and Hilly carries a secret and growing love as she watches Danny rise athletically to the top of their school’s food chain. He even dates the prom queen and rumor says they are engaged. Now Danny has graduated and shows up in her dad’s shop looking for some temporary employment until the army picks him off for Vietnam.
He’s thrown aside his college scholarship and the golden girl. He seems to be searching for something new before he leaves town. He seems to be searching for her. Hilly can’t let him go overseas without showing him how she feels. But once he’s gone, her own battle intensifies. It’s a long road to finding her thunder.
“Finding My Thunder” is a poignant and profound story about a young woman named Hilly growing up in the 1960’s. She is a shy and quiet person who learns from life and takes a stand for what she believes in. The story is written so descriptively that the reader can step into Hilly’s shoes and feel and experience her 1960’s life at home and at school when we hear about her fashions, music, and daily habits. We also learn about Danny, the boy she has loved since she was a child. There are mysteries around Hilly that are gradually revealed as she gets older. She learns the importance of her family and friends that protect her, and what they are protecting her from. Along with the serious events in her life, there are some hilarious ones when Hilly meets and becomes friends with some of the hippies at school who help Hilly find her voice and speak up for herself, something that no one else has done before. In spite of Hilly’s trials, she learns love and forgiveness and overcomes difficulties that most people could not.