... most likely someplace in alaska, possibly the kenai peninsula, spring of 1961 ... notice that my trousers are in the "ma, they're pinchin' my you-know-what" stage ... odd, how it seemed forever they stayed with the cuffs rolled up three times, then, seemingly skipping any sort of "they fit" period, they transitioned to the high-water style ... the only tactic i had to counter ma's devious torture system was to wear out the knees faster than she could apply patches ... that didn't always work, of course, but there was comfort in the fact that if a savage wolf ever attacked me at least my kneecaps would remain scar free ...
... ma wasn't with us on this trip ... simple evidence of that is the fact that mike is flagrantly violating the "gentlemen don't put hands in pockets" rule ... ma had lots of these rules and regulations ... she said they were written down in a book ... when she and pa were out of the house we'd search for it, but we never managed to discover the secret hiding spot ... then again, most of the time our searching ended up being a quest for christmas candy she stored away months in advance of the holiday ... pa was a silent accomplice, his loyalty assured because by finding the candy we'd also find the giant cans of nuts, and he'd pretty much sell his soul for a handful of cashews ...