Eugene F. Thomas was thirteen years old in 1961 when his family stuffed its belongings in the 1954 Chrysler and left New York for new opportunities in California. Having just finished eighth grade, Thomas wondered what adventures awaited him on the West Coast. The oldest son of Gene and Vivian, Eugene-also called Gene-learned the way any teenager would-by trial and error. In this memoir, he narrates his life's journey and lessons learned this way: moving across the country, growing up in the turbulent sixties, enduring puberty, serving in the military, working as an air traffic controller, teaching college students, practicing religion, getting married, and mastering single parenting. In Tree House to Palm Tree, Eugene tells how he came of age in California, showing a true example of a man who learned what it was like to dream of things and, by his actions and courage, turn them into reality.