The Second Coming [Hardcover]

This is the story of Bobby McGee, a young man growing up in a rural Florida Panhandle town as seen through the eyes of Bobby himself. We witness through his eyes how his father, the Reverend McGee, leads his flock of followers to hope and ultimately religious ecstasy in the promise of the Second Coming, and then we witness their plunge into the anguish of defeat. We follow Bobby's innocent humor as he zeroes in on the human condition and adult hypocrisy. We also witness Bobby's own loneliness and despair in his desire for a young woman he cannot have. We listen to the stories of his savior, Jorje Carlyle, and follow his wanderings as a runaway, fleeing the disaster of lost hope. We are left nearly breathless as he seeks shelter with another savior, the hobo Joey Kline, in a North Dakota blizzard. Then we enter the theater of the absurd as we witness his encounter with the evangelist in Seattle. We then witness his lowest ebb, homeless with Bubba on the streets of San Francisco. But finally we meet Stephanie and witness their romantic love for each other as well as their ecstatic date with eternity. And then, there is the professor and the nude beach.