"When Donald Davis walked into his 45th high-school reunion, he had two startling visions. The first was that the only signage he saw read, WELCOME HARLEY RIDERS.
After discovering that he and his classmates would be sharing space with the bikers, Davis had his second surprise: 'I was amazed to see how many parents had come.'
In The Time Machine, Davis offers us both the story of the reunion and the collectively remembered story of his classmates' senior year. In 1962, Waynesville, North Carolina, was that small town where the school principal also served as a teacher, the football coach, and the Sunday-school superintendent. One classmate spends his time in the bar wishing for a time machine, so he can go back to his teenage years with his accumulated experience."
"This is a double set of double stories. The first set is made up of a story my Grandmother told me about when my mother broke her arm...twice! The second story in this set is my story of when we broke my little brother's collarbone...twice! It is about how trouble is genetic in families. The second set follows up with the same neighbor boys, the Leatherwoods, and shows what happens when two big brothers team up against two little brothers. It also shows us that fathers are always smarter than their sons! --Donald Davis"
"The title story here is the story of my Mother's fear of snakes and of the way she eventually got passively even with me for making fun of her. She always came out on top. The second story we put on this recording is called 'The Red Coat,' as it is a story that happened in the same family setting. It is the story of how my father and his brothers-in-law finally stopped playing Christmas tricks on their sister-wives. --Donald Davis"
"This is a set of three stories about trouble with little brothers, especially mine. One is the story of the haircut he badly needed, and so I gave it to him. One is the story of getting permanently fired as his babysitter. The third is the story of one of the many science projects for which he was my personal chemistry set. These stories work to call memories forth from anyone who had to live in relationship to siblings. --Donald Davis"
"A lot about the birthing experience has changed during the past 50 years. A lot about child psychology hasn’t. For example, sibling rivalry: sometimes, a kid just isn’t ready for some little squirt to come along and invade his space—his own room. So what if there’s an extra bed in the room…isn’t that were the stuffed animals are supposed to sleep? How could a couple of otherwise sensible parents just bring a new kid home without even consulting their very own son? Still, a younger sibling can be in need of a big brother’s guidance. And a big brother, even if not so very big, can have a lot to offer—once he gets used to the idea."
"Learning to drive occasions emotions ranging from reasonable caution to unbridled terror. Learning under the watchful eye of one's spouse is an added challenge; undertaking the task with anxious children in the back seat can only heighten the intensity. Davis recalls his mother's driving lessons through the objective eye of a patient and restrained young man of seven, in contrast with his little brother, whose oft-shouted refrain—'You're going to kill us all!'—rings still in memory."
"Storyteller Donald Davis had a very sensible mother. She had a pretty good idea what boys would do, so she was always on the lookout. As Davis later learned, always being on the lookout is what mamas do. His vigilant but gentle mother gave her son multiple gifts in life, and—as we learn in the end—gifts that do not end with her passing."
