Jack's Carousel

Jack Emerson is proud of his old-fashioned scruples. After retirement in the mid-1980s, his life settles into a peaceful routine centered around carving wooden horses. He thinks nothing can send his life spinning off its comfortable course—until his teenage grandson challenges Jack’s staunch beliefs. “Granpop, can I live with you?” Jack Emerson lives by the Ten Commandments and doesn’t think allowing Scott, a teenager, under his roof is part of God’s job description for a widower who is content in retirement. But his grandson is miserable, and Jack loves him. Scott moves in, shrouded in unanswered questions. Who inflicted the wound on Scott’s back? Why won’t he talk about his parents? Who is he afraid of in school and why? An unexpected romance with a vibrant woman he meets at the Carousel gives Jack a welcome respite from his worries. Then Scott reveals that he’s gay. Jack is stunned and repulsed. The boy’s parents are mired in their own problems and are no help for Jack. He feels as though his life is spinning like a merry-go-round out of control. The master craftsman who carves exquisite wooden carousel ponies cannot carve away his family’s problems. Nikolas, his best friend, counsels faith, trust, and patience. But Jack wants resolution now. Scott must change. Surely God does not want Jack to accept the boy’s homosexual lifestyle. Does He? Can love and faith overcome deep-seated prejudice?