The DU Lounge

From second or third grade through high school. Then we fought over a girl. (He won.)

Marvin was the coolest kid on the block. He had all the great ideas, and the rest of us followed. His dad was a journeyman carpenter, so we were always building stuff.

The one time he screwed up was in our junior year when he bought a pristine white '65 Thunderbird for $500, literally from the fabled little old lady who drove it only to bingo on Wednesday nights. The first thing he did was put side pipes on it. Well, okay, that's sorta cool-lookin'. But then he put air shocks on the back to jack it up several inches, and then cut and flared the rear wheelwells and put 50-series (fat) tires on Ansen Sprint mags on it. Just destroyed its gorgeous purity. He ended up lending it to a heavy-drinking friend, who wrecked it for good.

Marvin died on the table during nasal surgery 10 years ago. He was only 59. It still makes me sad and wistful for a bit when I think about it, even though we hsdn't seen each other in nearly 40 years.