Sabrina woke up with a medley of 50s pop songs running through her head that refused to leave and was starting to affect her work as a receptionist, since whenever she opened her mouth a lyric about lollipops or earth angels would come floating out.

Unfettered by familial obligations for the first time in years, Manuel—full of ideas, dreams, plans—ended up dividing his time between watching T.V. and wandering aimlessly through town.

After drinking in a Coney Island bar one afternoon with Shorty, Alton ended up with a job swallowing swords and a girlfriend covered from head to toe in zebra stripe tattoos.

"Exercise is for the weak," said Flapjacks Butler, shoving another piece of banana cream pie into his gaping mouth, "I've never done it and could kill any musclebound jackass that came my way."

The shipment was late, the buyers were lined up and I paced nervously while Gertrude lazily followed my every movement with her .38.

While rhapsodized by old timers and the young alike and lauded by dignitaries far and wide Sam Popper cared for none of it, for there was only one he wanted to please and couldn't—his wife's tiny Pekingese "Starbuck."

When Ben was forced to spend the summer with his cousins he briefly considered running away rather than stay with other children he found to be both uncouth and bawdy, but over the course of the next two months something in him changed and he soon took great pleasure in telling jokes about bodily functions and in out-burping his new playmates.