“Hooligan” by Doug Thayer

This was a pretty fun book — especially if you’ve ever lived in Provo, it’s fascinating to read so many details of what Provo was like in the Thirties and Forties. Thinking of my own ten-year-old son, I was envious on his behalf for the freedom and adventure that Thayer and the other boys of his generation enjoyed; simultaneously I was horrified — I would never let my son do a lot of what Thayer got to do. I guess I’ll have to hope that Isaac manages to sneak a lot of good old-fashioned fun into his life when I’m not watching. (Happily or unhappily, I suspect that he does manage to — if not nearly to the degree that Thayer describes.)

And now I have a question for those of you who grew up Mormon and/or in Utah: Do you know what “bizzing” is? Clue: It’s sort of a winter sport. I ask this because I grew up in Orem, and as soon as I read the word “bizz,” I knew exactly what Thayer was talking about. Dean, who grew up in various other Utah towns (and some towns outside Utah) hadn’t heard of the term. “Bizzing”is grabbing the back bumper (or other part) of a car on a snowy day when the roads are slick, hitching a slippery ride. (I never tried this, and I know that my brothers weren’t supposed to, although I don’t know whether they ever defied the rule. Lots of boys in my neighborhood did bizz.) Thayer also accurately describes the indignant responses of the inadvertent ride-providers — although I also knew of adults who would intentionally provide bizzing rides, driving slowly up the center of the street. Anyway, I was amazed to learn that a term that was in currency in my Orem neighborhood in the late 70s and 80s was already in use in Provo as early as the 30s.

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