I grew up deep in the forests of the northern part of Massachusetts.
That far north you can go for miles on end without seeing another living soul. It was a quiet, lonely childhood, with only my parents for company. I was homeschooled, so I didn’t develop basic socialization skills. About the only time I ever saw people outside of my family is when we took a trip to Lowell. This was a couple hours drive from our house, so whenever we drove to Lowell we made a day out of it. Even when I was a kid, I knew that I belonged in a place like Lowell, and not stuck out in the middle of nowhere. This isn’t to say that Lowell is a cultural mecca or a huge city, but to me it represented a new chance at life. I wanted to be surrounded by people, I wanted the chance to get an education, or build a career, and in Lowell I could do all of those things. My dad had an old college buddy who lived in Lowell, so I looked him up to get some advice on finding a good job. Much to my surprise, Ed was the owner of his own HVAC repair shop, and he offered me a part-time job to help me get on my feet. Since it would take a few weeks to earn enough money for my own apartment, Ed let me sleep on a cot in the HVAC repair shop. Thankfully business was booming in Lowell, and it didn’t take long for me to earn enough money for a small apartment just outside of the city limits.