The Life Of A Country Boy

Thornton W. Chaney is a compelling story-teller. Although he has lived his eighty-four years within a one mile area, he has many adventures to relate. When he entered the Navy in WWII, he had been a sheltered farm boy. His Christian upbringing definitely influenced his life as he sailed the seven seas and was introduced to the ways of the world. The Life of a Country Boy is a compilation of adventures and escapades while in the Navy, but the greater part is devoted to Store Experiences. In 1988, he retired after forty years of running a country store. Chaneys Store was located in the Virginia community of Mountain Hill where, if you care to, you can step right into North Carolina. Farmers bought all their groceries, gas, and farm supplies there and then gathered around the pot-bellied stove on winter days weaving talestrue or not true. The Life of a Country Boy is the gathering of stories, some funny, some serious, some full of irony, that are the autobiography of my uncle Thornton as told to me, Janet W. Adkins. I have tried to tell these stories as nearly as possible in his own words, southern colloquialisms ringing through. His daughter-in-law said she could just hear him talking while she was reading it. When people in the stories are in negative situations, their names have been changed. But the real names of others are used as a means of honoring them.

Popular country music superstar Clay Walker talks about Jesus and the simple, grassroots faith that He inspired. Clay Walker's hit single “Jesus Was a Country Boy” resonated with people fed up with slick preachers driving luxury cars and church sanctuaries as big as football fields. That’s not what Jesus was all about. Like the country boy next door, Jesus modeled a grassroots faith. He was born in a barn and fished for his dinner. He hung out with lowlifes and sinners. He came not for the rich and powerful, but for the good old boys and country gals. Drawing from his own humble beginnings, Clay explores the ways Jesus spoke to good old-fashioned country folk: Jesus knew where he came from and he knew where he was going. He knew how to treat people, but he wasn’t afraid of a fight. He knew how to have a good time, and he loved to surprise people. And, like any good country boy, he knew about heartbreak. Ultimately, Jesus came to love and show that knowing His father is as free and easy as a summer breeze on a front-porch swing. If you want to find God, then it’s time to lose religion and meet a country boy from Bethlehem.

Country Boy is a fiction novel which takes place in the Carolinas. It takes you away from the streetlights of the inner cities to the backwoods, dirt roads, and trailer parks, where poverty is often overlooked. It's the Real Dirty South. This thugged-out love story was based in the small city of Rockingham, North Carolina in a small community called Piney Grove, home of the Real Murderous Clique, The P.G. Crew. The Crew is made up of a group of young boys who grew up together in Piney Grove and created this group of backwoods, jaw-breaking, pistol-toting, country gangstersQ, AKA "Big Country" is the head of The Crew with Omar, Fat Dave, Poo, Glenn AKA "June", Tim, Big Kev, and Corey making up the body. . Eventually, they went from hanging in the neighborhood to the hustle game. Q is that nigga. Loved by few, hated by many, but damned sho' respected by all. Ballers envied him, women wanted him. After building his empire to a status most hustlers only dreamed of, Q suffers through tragedies that come with this lifestyle. . With the support of his only true love Van and the respect of all the O.G.s in the Carolinas, nobody's safe from his wrath.But as the city boys always say, "Everybody can't make it to the top without deadly consequences."

A collection of poems, quotations, and excerpts from fiction and nonfiction on the topic of boys playing outdoors and growing up, richly illustrated.

Short inspirational & motivational stories from an old country boy. Stories of faith, encouragement and life lessons that I hope will touch you and help you in someway.