A boy’s struggle to mature is a road filled with potholes, patches, and forks. It helps to have a guide of strong moral character to show the way forward. Richard C. Meehan, Jr., Ricky, also called Boy, Kid, Son, and other titles as the case warranted, was lucky to have just such a role model. The trouble was, he was too young to understand the rarity of what he had, so he simply didn’t appreciate his father’s time-sacrifices as much as he should have. Every dip in the road became a battle of wills between an adolescent and a real man, the youngster trying to live up to the bigger-than-life example of the elder. While Pop did his best as a father trying to raise a son to manhood, Ricky many times resisted by acting like a petulant child. The road was rocky, and sometimes Ricky took the wrong fork. Pop went along for the ride like a good father should, sometimes taking the wheel to avoid the worst of calamities.

Richard “Pop” Meehan Sr. was a decent, moral, fun-loving bear of a man that other men looked up to as a leader and steadfast friend. He was proud of his only son and wanted to include Ricky in his life. Unfortunately, that meant dragging Ricky along on his hunting and fishing forays like excess baggage. At least, that’s the way it seemed to Ricky.

All too soon, the “good times” came to an end. Pop Meehan succumbed to the ravages of leukemia, and Ricky was faced with the reality that he had not fully appreciated the time spent with his father up to that point. Then, just as the father and son were coming to see each other as adults and deal together on that higher level, Pop was taken away.

Set in South Carolina of the 1960s and 70s, Duck Tale contains 66,000 words and 83 illustrations that describe a lifestyle lost to time. It was an age of technological advancement that brought wonder and inspiration to young people. Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, air conditioning came to the home, the Vietnam War drew to close, rotary dial telephones became push buttons, and the list goes on. In short, this is an adventure memoir that takes place in the historically significant Santee Swamp of South Carolina. It describes a boy’s struggle to maturity under the guidance of his exceptional father, an avid waterfowler. Come along with Pop and Rick Meehan, Vee Bee and Brad Burnett, David W. Atherton, and Dr. Alva S. Pack, III, for a quacking good trek to manhood!