Dad as a teenager

Dad was “Kev” growing up. He was short, slim, and scrawny with not a hair on his body save his dirty-blonde locks. He was a pretty-boy—one of those faces that made the girls swoon despite his height challenge. But at home, he was the runt of the guy, senior only to his little sister, Kim. When he was about 15, he came outside in his blue Cavs tank top and gym shorts looking for his older brother Vince. He had a plan. Together, they rigged an elaborate trap for their older brother Kyle in the barn. First came the bucket of tar, then the chicken feathers, fresh from the chickens in the back yard. By the end of the prank, they were all covered in tar, so their father, Norvel, threw them in the tub one by one and dumped gasoline on them. Doris rubbed them raw with a hard foam scrubber. Once their skin was raw, Norvel gave them each a few good slaps and sent them to the Hilltop Market to get some cigarettes. Dad ran down into the fields instead chasing deer. He promised himself he’d catch one someday.