I just finished reading Mitch Rycus' Rub Up: Musings of a Navy Corpsman. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this short novel was written by a cousin of Donna's. It was an interesting read and I enjoyed it but not because it was a work of fiction.
My problem is that I know Mitch. If we lived in the same city, he and Carol would be among our closest friends. I also knew a bit about his life before I sat started reading his book. As a result, I felt that I was reading an autobiographical account of the life of a cousin from his youth through his years in the Navy after he dropped out of high school. It is certainly to his credit that this high school dropout not only went on to college after his discharge from the service but eventually chaired the Urban Planning Program at the University of Michigan.
I guess I would describe this "novel" as a memoir in which the names were changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent. It truly was a good coming-of-age story. I look forward to asking Mitch about the book when I see him next July at the Rycus family reunion here in the L.A. area which Donna is helping plan.
If I'm wrong about what this book is, I'm sure Mitch will both set me straight and forgive me for my assumptions.
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