Some of Skippy's Blues

Lesley Shortt is an elementary-school teacher in Milton, Ontario.

Set in the small town of Cambrian Bay, Ontario, in the early 1960s, Some
of Skippy’s Blues is a heartwarming coming-of-age tale.

As a youth, Skippy Jacques fell victim to polio and has never been
accepted by his peers. But his status as a loner changes following a
chance meeting with Benny, another nonconformist by their small town’s
standards. Benny introduces Skippy to a wider world with talk of
coffeehouses and beatniks in New York. Skippy has a brief sexual
encounter with Benny’s wife, opens a café, and plans a romantic
escape from Cambrian Bay with a woman he has fallen in love with. When
he tries to execute his plan, though, Skippy’s world comes crashing
down around him.

Some of Skippy’s Blues is an honest and wonderfully written portrayal
of a young man’s life and times.