Looking Back with a Smile

There’s a chuckle on every page of Looking Back with a Smile as the author recollects in brief but entertaining anecdotes (bits and pieces) of a life that has spanned seven decades. Bits and pieces are what they are. Quick looks at what he calls an “ordinary” life, each served up with a laugh.

These recollections take the reader on a merry romp through growing up during the Depression and wartime 1940’s, the transitions from grade school to high school to college to the military, to work, and finally, to marriage, kids and grandkids. On the way we also laugh about pets, secretaries, bugs in the BOQ, being a canine midwife, and many more incidents and observations all dished out with warmth and wit.

A sampling of the subtitle over each anecdote gives a little insight into Ed Farber’s humorous approach: A Wig in the Waste Can; No Appreciation for Tenors; Hiding from Cousin Sophie; A Low Point at High School; Bill Haley vs. Beethoven; Las Vegas Was Cheap Back Then; Hot Fudge Sundae, Hold the Fudge; Teeth? Who Needs Teeth? Teenagers. A Whole New Brand of Kids; Lucky Ticks Me Off; What’s a Skink?; ESP on the Way to L.A.; An Instant Grandchild.

The author sums it up nicely when he writes: “I have to warn you ahead of time that there are no moments of historical importance, no stories of great deeds, no famous people, nothing sensational, sleazy or sexually arousing, but I’m certain that these bits and pieces, while totally mine, will give you a chuckle and remind you of your own, because we are all, millions of us, ordinary people. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.”