Coyote Weather
It’s 1967, and young people in the quiet fictional town of Ayala, modeled after Ojai, California, must cope with a harsh new world. The U.S. thrusts Ayala’s young men into the ugly and unpopular Vietnam War. Some flee to Canada or hide in communes where everything is free, everyone is equal, but nothing works. Many women realize they no longer must do whatever men command. Drug addiction and alcoholism take their toll. The lucky ones who find their way back often come home destroyed in body or mind. Older folks are confounded by the changing times, if not crushed by the sudden loss of a young relative. Ever observant and opportunistic, coyotes hover in the scrub lands of Southern California.
We follow main characters Jerry and Ellen through these challenging circumstances. They date and fall in love, but she returns to her all-girls’ college far away. He drops out of junior college and loses his draft deferment so scrambles to stay hidden. Jerry’s curiosity to learn and use handyman skills allows him to make enough money to get by. Ellen holds onto the sensible plan of education, marriage, job, and children while beginning to understand that she, not the men around her, controls her choices and destiny.
Spanning roughly five years, Cockrell’s novel takes on many related themes and sub-plots. They all resolve sensibly and leave the reader with a deep understanding about that hard time for a nation and people forced to grow up. We relive the Robert Kennedy and MLK assassinations, the anti-war riots and harsh crackdowns, the many ways (most unsuccessful) of draft-dodging. With compassion and humor, Cockrell describes the people and their sometimes-heartbreaking efforts to work through the tumult.
