In my adulthood, having achieved a certain measure of success in my career on the East Coast, I fondly look back to my childhood days in the Midwest. My mother’s youngest sister figures prominently in my memories, for reasons which I hope will become clear in the following paragraphs.
My parents did not expect the chaos of four wilful children, of which I was the oldest male; they often sought to escape the household alone, for whatever they considered romance to be. Needless to say, I had no idea whatever of their destinations or their activities.