Sure, I was a rebellious little bastard, and to be honest, the only reason why I bothered attending school at all was to avoid truancy arrest.

Sister Margaret Gertrude and the other hooded vultures gave up on me a long time ago, but I decided to shock the hell out of ‘em by actually doing a homework assignment.

So that night, I grabbed a pen and hastily cranked out the two-page essay assignment, which turned into a six-page sophomoric drivel-fest about a bank robbery gone bad,…

Wisdom: Contrary to what you’ve been told, wisdom does not increase with age, but you will have a lot more freedom to pursue the myth of wisdom because you’ll save so much time by being too damn old and tired to chase skirts.…

Musically speaking, the usual suspects touched my pre-teen heart: The Beatles, whose records I wore out, along with other top 40 regulars, such as Gary Pucket, The Righteous Brothers, The Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, and so on and so…

Although at times he was mischievous, Dennis’s overall appearance and demeanor was not considered intimidating for a twelve-year-old kid—a mop of dark brown hair parted in the middle and partially covering his roundish face, his height and weight, and his physical speed and strength was average.

Dennis had a friendly and communicative personality even though his grades were a little below average, as was his vocabulary. And he bore no…