Prepare yourself for a hilarious, adventurous romp through the herky-jerky 1950s—the era of Elvis, the bop, poodle skirts, and the magical, coming-of-age journey of high school junior, jokester, and aspiring kid magician Mikey Moran, who leaves his mundane world to become the new soda jerk in a wacky Richmond, Virginia, neighborhood drugstore. There, he encounters a menagerie of quirky characters destined to change his life forever; Old Doc, the drugstore’s wily owner, the Italian Mafiosi, and his southern fried belle, a soft-shoe dancing encyclopedia salesman, mind readers, carnival workers, magicians, his football player rival, and the girl of his dreams. In Soda Jerk Wizard, Mikey’s life is complicated by his escalating prankster behavior, and serious troubles begin when he attends a spooky séance and uses Houdini-like techniques to expose the Indian mystic as a fraud and shuts down the event. In quick succession, he loses his father to cancer, his sweetheart abruptly moves away without a promise of return, and Mikey is then shocked to discover that his actions at the séance have caused the immigrant’s family to become destitute. To right this terrible wrong, he assembles a team of zany drug store associates, and with the magic learned from his uncle, “The Amazing Le Roy,” he creates an incredible stage show entertainment starring the Indian with superhuman powers of memory. Will Mikey extricate himself from some seriously dangerous life-threatening behavior? Can he avoid the sadistic attack from his football nemesis and rekindle his romantic relationship with his one true love? Not before thwarting some formidable foes with his laugh-out-loud pranks, magical abilities, perseverance, and sheer guts that will dramatically alter his life and those around him.

Reuben W. “Buzz” Kaplan was born in 1924 in Owatonna, Minnesota. His travels began when he joined the US Army and was sent to Germany in 1943 to fight in World War II. Upon returning home, he earned his pilot’s license and pursued the life of an adventurer. He flew his airplanes in over seventy-five countries and six continents, winning numerous awards for his flight achievements. Buzz’s adventures included a wild game hunt in Africa, numerous Arctic fishing trips, and Friendship Flights to the Soviet Union, Europe, and South America. As part of the Greenland Expedition, he worked to recover airplanes from the Lost Squadron, buried 270 feet below the Greenland ice cap. His airplane restoration company, Born Again Restorations, rebuilt a Savoia-Marchetti flying boat, which became the oldest Italian airplane in operation. In 1988, he landed it on Lake Geneva, Switzerland—a first since 1912—and in 1990, he flew it around the Statue of Liberty. As shown in R.W. “Buzz” Kaplan, Buzz’s adventures made headlines and friendships all over the world. Although Buzz rarely passed up an opportunity to travel the globe, he never forgot the community where he grew up. He was the chairman and CEO of Owatonna Tool Company and its subsidiaries and the president and founder of Heritage Halls Museum in Owatonna. In addition, he was a respected and generous contributor to the city of Owatonna. This is his story.