One summer day my brother Tom invites me to go shooting rats at the local dump. We have permission from the Service Director to do this. I’m there with my trusty bb gun (I’m 13 years old). The “big” guys all have 22 rifles. Next thing the local police show up to check us out. The officer asks my brother about his knife wound (Reply….whittling a popsicle stick), and his gunshot wound (Reply….cross firing at a ground hog). The officer says that he doesn’t buy those responses. Upon turning to leave……I mention “shoot the dirty cop in the back!” (I’m trying to impress the big guys). He immediately turns around and says “I’ll remember you said that.” All the guys look at me and groan……….”Why did you say that?……..”stupid”! I was totally an idiot and trying to play up to the bigger guys. Well I made a “HUGE” mistake because Officer Narduzzi never ever forgot my horrible statement. I’ve been guilty of stupidity many times, but this was one of my crowning moments. This was the beginning for my future paybacks for saying that. I’ll let you in on his getting even with Mr. Stupid at another time .

At the age of 16, finally can get my driver’s license. Well, my Father don’t have the patience and my brother don’t have the time to teach me. I figure, I’ll teach myself. My parents were on vacation in Florida. I roll my father’s car down the drive out into the street, I don’t want my brother to hear. It’s 12 midnight. I drive about a half a mile over into the next city. I turn down a short side street. Half way down the street is the police, shining their spotlight into the backyards. I turn into the first drive, begin to back up to go the other way, when the police quickly back up to block me. First thing “let’s see your license”. My response, “I left my wallet back home”. Next, “Get out of the car.” I get in the backseat of the cruiser. They want to know what I was really doing. I tell them “Practicing driving.” Of course they don’t believe me. They want to know who was with me……(no-one). They check my shoes, which were covered with grass from mowing my parent’s lawn. They check the trunk, which had gardening tools of my father’s. It looks to them that I’m the guy they were looking for, that was stealing tools from garden sheds. Now they call for my city’s police to ID me. Payback time for me. The officer who comes to check me out is the one that I met three years earlier, and said to shoot him…………..(I’m dead)…….. They throw me back into the backseat, and threaten me with going to a detention home with all the bad characters (like me). They tell me that I’ll miss school and be put back etc., unless I come clean and tell who was with me etc. I already told the truth, and couldn’t say anymore. They rode me around all night long. Finally they issued a citation to appear in Juvenile Court, and took me home. At court they rule that I can’t drive until age 17. It took forever to get to 17. I’ll tell more about getting my license, buying a two year old car (paying cash), and getting my first ticket all on my 17^th birthday. I really knew how to have fun!!!

Finally I reach the ripe age of 17. I take and pass my driving test….no problem. I pick up my new car (60 red Chevy with a 348 big block). The car is two years old but in perfect shape. Paid cash from working (paper route, farm work, grocery store). I already have three two barrels and the manifold for it. I had them since age of 13. I dreamed of getting a car for them.  I used to play a LP record of cars going down the dragstrip at full volume, all day long. I must have drove my poor parents nuts. Now I pick up my friends to show off my wheels. There are six in the car. I’m flying down the highway…………and bingo………get pulled over. The officer tells me to follow him to the station. We get there and go inside. He mentions about a “60” Chevy sitting in the parking lot. He tells me that the guy is in the cooler for drag racing. He mentions that my license is invalid. I about puked when he said that. He noted the reason was… that I hadn’t signed it. Now I sign it. He say’s “Having a big day?” He makes out a ticket and hands it to me……….it was a warning ticket……….what a great guy. He tells me that he will be sending this warning to my parents. So, now every day I camp out at the mailbox waiting for the letter. It finally arrives, I open it up, read it, tear it into small pieces and burn it………..whew………nobody knows. I’m for sure going to burn in hell….. More stuff to follow……….I sure did have fun!