Kids Cry Today

"Did kids today cry more?" I asked Billy.

"Oh, my nephew cries all the time," he told me. He has a nephew that's the same age of the Dufflebag.

"Did you ever cry out of frustration when you were a kid? I don't think I ever did."

"Oh yeah. I cried all the fucking time."

"I don't think I did," I told him. "It was only later when I became a big pussy. I did once put a message in a bottle and throw it out the window for someone to help me. My Mom was making me stay in my room. Did you cry because you had to do homework."

"Oh yeah. Actually, my Mom didn't make me do it. When I went to live with my uncle, he laid the hammer down. My Mom didn't do shit. I used to walk around the streets of Malden when I was eight."

"What happened with your Mom?" I asked him. I was originally told by someone else that Billy was an orphan. I never brought it up with him. That's the ways of men. I figured if he wanted to tell me, he would.

"My Mom kicked me out of the house when I was twelve and a half."

"She kicked you out when you were twelve and a half!"

"She had a nervous breakdown and told me I had to get out. Basically gave me a carton of cigarettes and told me to get lost. I didn't see her again until I was seventeen. My uncle raised me. He made me do homework. I hated him for it. But that's what I needed. I needed my ass kicked." The phone rang. "I'll tell you about it some other time."