Repudiated, spit on and reviled as "the wickedest man in the country" Dr. Thompson basked in his new-found fame.

"Life is inherently unfair," I told her as we walked through the field, "some animals we love like family, others we eat for breakfast."

The world was moving too fast for Eustice who refused to get rid of his phone that required a crank and the same went for his car.

With a shattering of glass and the stampeding of shoppers, the holiday season began.

There was no ticker-tape, no cheering crowds, no medals, just a dark and lonely room in a VA hospital.

There were gunshots in the distance, a prelude to just another Saturday night.

Topper thought of his family as a derisive bunch of hooligans with a penchant for booze and bad decision making and included himself in that category as well.