a dream come true
I had this friend named Mark Bradley that I used to play Star Wars with as a kid. His dad was an attorney, and his mom was a doting, stay-at-home-and-serve-you-Kool Aid-in your-room-type of mom. Mark Bradley had almost every Star Wars toy that was ever made, and he seemed to get them as soon as they hit the toy stores. He also had shelves filled with Battlestar Galactica toys, and Micronauts, and Hot Wheels and I was pretty jealous of him.
Mark Bradley could put together elaborate and complicated models without any help from his dad. Whether it was the Millennium Falcon, or a Frankenstein, Mark Bradley's models always looked perfect, just like they looked on the box. When I tried to make models the glue would stick to my fingers, and I couldn't find certain parts, and the directions seemed too complicated, and I usually got frustrated and gave up.
Well, anyway, Mark Bradley and I played Star Wars together for a few years until he moved away to the north side of town and I didn't see much of him anymore.
But years later I decided to check up on him when we were both in high school. By this time I had discovered going out and partying and had a girlfriend, and I thought I was a pretty cool guy. When I revisited Mark Bradley it seemed that he had been kept in a time capsule since second grade. His room was still filled with models and toys and posters of space movie stuff. I kind of pitied the guy since it seemed he was destined to be a nerd for the rest of his life.
A couple years later, after I had flunked out of FSU and was working in a shoe store, I decided to call Mark Bradley and see how the world was treating him. His mom answered the phone and said that Mark Bradley didn't live there anymore. He had moved to Orlando after being hired by Universal Studios to build miniature models for sets and movies.
"That's fantastic!" I said. "It's like a dream come true for him."
"Yes, we're very proud of him,"said Mrs. Bradley.
I'm not exactly sure what I did that night, but chances are I got drunk.
(from Beautiful Loser, 2002).
6:54:25 PM 
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