The Ghost of Bud Parrott - Hardcover

A teen&;s life is complicated.  Add an overworked dad, a distraught mom.
Enter an old man from the wrong side of the tracks.
He knows things.  He&;s there when you need him.
 
This happens to someone; it&;s not a maybe thing.  People get hurt.  People die.  There&;s a dad who loves his kid but works all the time.  When he doesn&;t work, he drinks.  When he drinks he&;s out of control.

There&;s a mom.  She knows dad is overworked, a good man carrying too much responsibility. 

The kid turns to the handy man to learn a man&;s skills.  In the old man from the wrong side of the tracks, the kid finds unusual skills and terrible&;but true&;lessons.  He finds that his own safety comes at a cost to his unfortunate friend.  He finds growing up comes at a cost to himself.  This is the story of such a kid, told by himself after he has lived much of his life, come to terms with his parents&; weaknesses, and learned that seemingly insignificant people carry more pain than he can imagine, though he has already seen plenty.