East Side

In 1964, at age fourteen, Calvin moves with his family to sunny San Diego, leaving behind two feet of snow back in Chicago. On his first trip to the ocean, he discovers what he believes to be a spent water flare and, bringing it home to see how it was put together, discovers that it is still loaded, a quick way to meet the neighbors. He makes friends with Jimbo and together they discover cars, alcohol and marijuana. On a rainy night, working alone in a donut shop, closed for the night, Calvin is visited by a girl who wants to buy a glazed donut, something he has not yet made. Waiting for her donut, they talk, tease, flirt and eventually start to date. Soon, Jimbo and Calvin are in competition for her love, something she is unwilling to give. The Viet Nam War is raging and both are called into the service, one for four years, one for two. One comes home, the other has a whole different set of problems. This is a story about life in the Sixties.