New Jersey flavors the twenty-seven short stories of REPLAYS. Hawthorn would not trade where and when he grew up with anyone else on Earth. A rediscovered best friend, DP Ski, and his colorful Jersey upbringing enliven his tales—a place where the milestones of yutes fly by sooner than elsewhere. The dialog-driven stories and unusual adventures take place in the past and present. Most in the suburbs of Trenton in local taverns serving classic—Italian—Jersey dishes. Or on a road, past a boulder, going down the shore through the Jersey Pinelands. Or in California, the Bahamas, and Florida—"You never know what you're going to get." The stories blend friends and events replaying in the writer's mind for decades. While the tales are fictional, Hawthorn experienced much of what happens. Plenty of humor, Jersey sarcasm, and eccentric characters permeate the narratives. Hawthorn and his buddy Ski ponder and probe peculiar behavior, Jersey traits, their past, personal dilemmas, relationships, God, what has value, lessons learned, and how they've changed. They single out life's little joys—ordinary things that bring happiness in small doses.