Fireworks in the parking lot of the grocery store. A raise to $24,000 a year. Newcastle in a Sbarro cup. We took more compact discs in that summer than either one of us could count.

The novelty of youth. The bliss of ignorance. The liberty in reckless abandon.

A trunk full of beer. A full day’s drive.

I wore a bowling shirt the day my family celebrated my high school graduation. There are photos of it somewhere. My friends were there and it was great. Finally, I knew the taste of being free.