The Boy Who Never Went Home

Child prodigies have been the subject of stories since the onset of written language. Many of those stories were about child musicians, mathematicians, athletes, scientists, and many other disciplines. There are the unusual or gifted children, not recognized as prodigies, because their claim to fame was not the result of a talent from birth or advantages, but their development came about in spite of when they were born, who their parents were, where their early years took place, or how the family treated them. Sometimes it was complete strangers who came along and gave these children confidence in their abilities. Through all of their adversities, they develop a prodigy-like mantle.
This is one of those stories. The hero, a ten-year-old boy who was sometimes called “Sling.” Early in life, his family marveled at his prowess in throwing rocks, and later, others would call him a modern-day “David,” as in the biblical story of David and Goliath. The nickname, “Sling”, is the name a Sheepherder named Lonzo called him, a man the boy he encountered at the age of five. The name “Sling”, he lived up to, as he grew older.
This story details his early life as a child: the influence and experiences of his years living in a log house in the “dirty thirties”—the Great Depression. He lived there with his mother, father, and a family that grew to include seven children. There were neighbors, teachers, and ordinary people who recognized his extraordinary quest to learn and his ability to apply the wisdom that only those who have lived long enough to acquire it could offer him. He attended a country school, and later, when the country school closed, his education continued in the town school, where he finished fifth grade. His many experiences shaped his prodigy-like achievements. In town school, the library became his tutor, far beyond his grade requirements. He developed a penchant for learning about everything, and absorbed what he read like a sponge.