Chapter One - The Fall

The fall of 1990... I was so naive.  I was an idiot, a moron.  A young stupid kid.  I drank way too much.  I know I was just a freshman, having fun, being on my own for the first time. But, I should have known there would be consequences.  The worst thing I could have ever done (other than the time I became a jelly donut) was at a party on the corner of Avenue C and Oak St.  In fact, this area of town is quite significant in my life...  (more to come)  All of my friends went... Rene Lira, Jeff Crosby, Kelly DeSarla, Kristin, Chuck, Lee, Karen, Jeff Hodges, Jonathon Fisher, Bart (and some other guy - I think it was his roommate) et. everyone else...  So many people.... well, this was the first time (and I wish it was the last time) I smoked pot.  I had resisted all year.  I was afraid of it.  But, this was the last party of the year, so I figured, why not?  Dumb dumb dumb dumb....  That night, seemingly nothing happened.  I didn't die...  my life didn't change - at least not noticeably.  I didn't realize I had opened Pandora's box...  I'm glad I have written things down over the years, and have pictures, and video and audio documentation of my life.  Otherwise, I wouldn't know over half of the past 17 years.