Reckless Abandon.... in Book of Lies.....

This is a continuation of a story line posted 4/16/15 titled little children.... it is nonfiction as before....

Country living near a tourist destination bred the most unusual of youth. On the one hand once children got beyond 8 or 9 they freely roamed neighborhoods and the forests. Camping away from parental supervision and the ability to be armed with knives and early familiarity with hunting gear made for an interesting peer group.
One the other hand city life with so many out of towners coming and going brought carnal influences from larger cities including an unending supply of drugs and people looking for a good time.
As I grew I also had access to power boats which increased my range and ultimately my exposure to a variety of temptations and ways of thinking. Independence grew from this early age as my mother was busy planning her next divorce or socializing out of the home. Step-dad had no authority and seemed content to pretend he had some authority over my brother and I.
Strangely my peer group skipped the phase of boys hanging with boys and girls with girls. A neighborhood gang emerged and it was a bond that one would be wise not to fuck with. Certain parents had authority to admonish but others found cars covered in egg and windows better replaced than taking the time to get the cake of paraffin wax off.
The odd thing with this peer group is if you did not function well in school you did not belong. We went to school, most were in some sports or at least were very athletic. If you didn’t cover your ass with seemingly good intentions you brought attention upon yourself…and that jeopardized the whole group. A group that was breaking into homes (out of the neighborhood), doing drugs, under the supervision of parents who said their goodbyes on Friday and hellos on Sunday evenings.
The core of my group was Bob, Dave, Steve, Toni, Cindi, Potter (f) and Ron. Four cars were available along with two speed boats and camping gear for twenty or more. All our parents were drinkers and “out of sight, out of mind” was their parenting forte. Keep the cops out of the yard and everyone was happy. This was a highly functioning peer group. Everyone one of the above rose above this conglomeration of crime and drugs and landed in positions of trust and financial freedom except Cindi who was sadly murdered.
We were not formidable. We were worrisome to others. A odd bunch of individuals who were up to no good but no one could figure out what. What we did complimented each other.
Dave: Handsome, clever, upper middle class well dressed could talk a girl out of their skirt with a wink.... but never would as he was not that way.... he would steal her wallet tho....
Steve: Looked 25 when he was 16. Drove a Mustang, black belt in Taekwondo, a was a nice guy who no one would even think of fucking with.
Bob: Smart, hard working, loved to smoke weed, and in on every B&E and MDOP the gang did....
Toni, Cindi, Potter,.... Liked the group as an unending supply of alcohol and weed, but were dedicated to the core… just not comfortable with the victimization of others. (good for them)
Me: Reckless, shadowed part of the group. Made sure the guys got through school okay. “School first” role modeling but also led the way to clean the group of distractions junior and senior year of shit like band, school sports. Money was important so get a job not screw around with non profitables. The assistant principal hated my guts because I was constantly challenging him about discentive approach to acting out behaviors.
Ron: Driver and shifty character. Presented a bit effeminate but one would be very mislead about this soft spoken lad. Empathy: 0
Everyone graduated but my dumbass brother. Everyone got through without a criminal record.... except my brother and Ron and that was for a B&E while I was out of town…
More to come....