Whitey and Me — Sue Perkins

In 1949 Warren Hearst can no longer play shortstop or ride his Schwinn Black Phantom bicycle, as polio has claimed his ten-year old body. Feverish, bundled in a blanket in his family's station wagon, he is rolling toward Omaha for treatment and a new life. Warren does not care about this strange, new place, away from their home in Lexington, Nebraska. He would rather disappear and live in a cave, far away from everyone. But Warren doesn't stay in his own world for long. Duane "Whitey" Swift, a pesky neighbor kid, convinces him to come out and play. Warren bumps along in a coaster wagon powered by Whitey, and gets into scrapes he never previously encountered. Then Whitey takes him to a neighbor's tree house or the "Venus House", as Whitey calls it, which ultimately transforms Warren's life. Warren and Whitey remain lifelong friends, and in their 60s, they perform one last caper after sunset on a special night in the old "Venus House". Whitey and Me: The Truth about the Tree House reflects upon friendship and the remarkable, special gifts and profound effects received from a seemingly ordinary tree house.