Steven Babiuch

A Walk-on Part in the War: a ¿70s Odyssey Steven Babiuch

College dropout Scott Sanderson sitsin a rural Florida holding cell in themiddle of the night, awaiting a hearingthe following morning. He hasventured from Los Angeles on hismotorcycle to see the country beforethe responsibilities of post-collegeadulthood ensnare him. Ignoring hisdraft status, the journey takes him firstto Mardi Gras, then to Florida, wherehis arrest abruptly curtails theadventure. Faced with jail time, he reluctantlyfollows the judge's orders and joins thenavy. This solidifies his notion that lifeis stacked against him and that thegeneration in charge has rigged theworld in its favor. In his new situation, Scott deals with many of the issues heleft behind: his relationship with hisfather and his family, his commitmentto the service, his relationships withwomen, and his future. Interwoven with historic events of theera and the lives of his peers both athome and in the navy, A Walk-on Partin the War follows Scott on his quest tofind direction in a fractured and confusedAmerica. A modern-day odyssey, thisnovel captures the waning optimism andthe rapid pace of individual and socialchange that overtook mid-1970sAmerica.