Manhasset, Long Island

This is the overall setting for many scenes of the story. Some referred to it as a bedroom community, but most of the residents considered themselves a barroom community. The author described specific settings within this neighborhood, including his grandparents' home, the bar, and the store where Moehringer worked as a salesman.

Dickens/Publicans

A man named Steve owned Dickens, later known as Publicans. The business was considered “the bar” for the neighborhood. This was an important place for Moehringer as a child because the men who worked and drank there were the only role models Moehringer had and were symbolic of his absent father. As soon as he was old enough to drink legally, Moehringer spent a Friday night at the bar. Steve set out to make this a classy place, including a full menu for diners in the early evening. As an adult...