loud, obnoxious man who is obsessed with practical jokes and animal carcasses. Cory comes to realize as he grows that Granddaddy Jaybird is a selfish person who cares for no one but himself. In fact, Cory's first lesson in this is when Granddaddy Jaybird abandons Cory in the heat of a summer's day in order to play illegal poker with Bodean Blaylock. Cory understands that Granddaddy Jaybird is not a good person, but he also believes that his curiosity that helps in his writing comes from Jaybird, therefore he respects his grandfather for his gifts to his own personality. Gotha and Gordo Branlin Gotha and Gordo Branlin are the local bullies in Zephyr. Gotha and Gordo like to pick on boys younger than themselves, which means Cory and his friends. On the baseball field one day, the Branlin boys attack Cory and his friends mercilessly, causing one boy to suffer a concussion. As a consequence of this episode, one of those boys learns to box from a book and he attacks Gotha Branlin in the schoolyard. Gotha learns from this experience and never attacks these boys again. In fact, Gotha straightens out his life and becomes a decent citizen when he grows older. Gordo, on the other hand, never learns his lesson and eventually dies in a holdup when he is shot by the owner of the convenience store he is trying to rob. Nemo Curliss Nemo Curliss is a young boy who comes to live in Zephyr for a few short months during the summer of 1964. On their first meeting, Cory comes to discover that Nemo has a talent when it comes to throwing baseballs. However, Nemo's overprotective mother refuses to allow him to play because she feels her little boy is too fragile to play rough sports like baseball. Cory and his friends are deeply disappointed because Nemo could have helped them win the season that summer in little league. During their brief friendship with Nemo, Cory and his friends are attacked by the Branlin boys while defending Nemo, an event that causes the boys terrible injuries and leaves Johnny looking for revenge. Nemo's dad is a salesman for shirts, so they move around a lot and as a result, Nemo can't make any friends. It's very sad when he moves away since he said that Cory and his friends were probably the closest friends he's ever