In the final stage of life, an old Woody begins writing a journal and telling Rosie, a nurse’s aide in the facility where he is being cared for, a story about a cross-country trip he took as a youngster. He begins, “Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes, one that didn’t kick me dead and one that saved my worthless orphan life and your worthy precious one.”
Woodrow Wilson Nickel (Woody) is seventeen years old and on the run when traveling cross country with Riley Jones and two giraffes. It is 1938, and Rutledge’s setting includes Depression and Dust Bowl anecdotes. Additional topics and themes include women’s issues, racism, orphans, law enforcement, circuses, and animal rights.
The story is about a love for animals and a special relationship with two giraffes that had made it across the Atlantic, survived the hurricane of 1938 and headed for the San Diego Zoo. But, of course, there are obstacles along the way. As Woody comes of age, Old Man, as he refers to Riley Jones, has a significant influence upon his development, as does Augusta Red, a woman who follows Riley and Woody, posing as a Life magazine photographer.
