made eacorture. I ex-pected civilization, but ties and blue uniforms inguisers, burpers, to torture t, stealing luncing on ts, egging ed as a potential prey. A feually oppressed. ted badly, eit every sligion. At an early age, tlessly, as clerks or store managers, systems analysts or consultants. t of tears—but I neglected to come to trengtch a single, well-placed blow.

    ties. too, dis-played many of ting personal s and lack of general oo loudly or not at all. ted viciously among tes, or to t of tinely tore apart t girls aunts and se ims  mercy if, for instance, t ts in class, as  before recess on t day to tess ode time, I felt someto sympatune. teased about til Val-entines Day. In te blouses, to tles. In t sense, t to ts.

    togetimes at nig, spooking sleeping birds from ts, stealing cloter page of ting about my peers. But for all its faults, t my mind to forgetting t and becoming a real boy again. Intolerable as sced. Mom ing for me every afternoon, pretending to be dusting or cooking riumply t door.

    quot;t; so tcine. quot;oday, ;

    I  lies for .

    quot;Did you learn anyt;

    I e all t ely curious and pleased, but  last to to finis before suppertime. In ts before my fat tableside. In te ballads, and I learned t ed. By accident or ignorance, I mimicked tly and could sing tone for tone, measure for measure, ply like Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney or Jo Stafford. Mom took my musical ability as a natural extension of my general el