Last Hand - a Book by Tom Price

Arlington resident Tom Price told of his book, Last Hand, A Suburban Memoir of Cards and the Cold War Era. As he expressed it, it’s a tale of the life and death of an American Cold War family, describing it as a journey back to a bygone era before laptops, digital TV, and cell phones.

For those of us relatively new to Arlington, the area had experience tremendous change – from 1950 to 1970 there was 650% growth, 10 new schools and 10,000 children in school at the end of that era, he said.

To Tom, life in the 1970s in the Greenbriar subdivision was an archetype of what was happening elsewhere in the country, and especially the Chicago area at the time. His descriptions in the book include summer road trips, suburban growth, memories from crowded schools and the neighborhood, family pastimes and relationships.

He stated with concern that his son’s life is very different from what he experienced growing up in that north Arlington Heights subdivision, some of the changes seem to have been for the good. There is greater availability of information, a higher standard of living, and more awareness of the arts, culture and downtown Arlington restaurants. Some, he feels, have been negative – with more information sources, there’s less that we have in common, and there’s more political correctness which can get in the way of meaningful opportunities in life.

The book uses an artful vehicle of the card game, something especially popular before TV became so much a part of our lives. His device for closing his story was the idea of a game coming to an end because there are no more folks in the family left who play it.

You can learn more about the book by visiting the book's web site www.lasthandthebook.com.

Test yourself as to what era you’re from – how many of you know what pinochle is?!