Oh, Andy dear Andy. The boy is near and dear to my heart. As mentioned earlier, Andy Junior is modeled on my brother. The specifics of the mischief Andy gets into in this chapter, while typical of the reckless abandon of his youth, is not based on a true life escapade. (Stories later in the book are lifted directly from his life, but this one is only true in spirit.)
Andy’s dangerous dabbling with benzene harkens back to an earlier era, in my brother’s life and even within my lifetime, when inquisitive children could easily encounter what are now recognized terrifyingly dangerous things. I remember a high school acquaintance named Kurt who got his hands on a small quantity of mercury. Several of us looked on eagerly as he made the fluid metal perform assorted tricks. To quote the internet (source of all ultimate truth in the modern age): “The inhalation of mercury vapor can produce harmful effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, lungs and kidneys, and may be fatal.” I’m sure our exposure was pretty low, and had any science teacher found out Kurt had it, our “play time” would have been shut down and the material confiscated. But the point here is that in my youth, and more so in my brother’s youth (eighteen years separated us) restrictions were much more lax. So I think Andy’s experiments have a certain plausibility.
The significance of Andy’s exposure to benzene will manifest itself later. Here it is merely groundwork, and for me just a chance to revel in my brother’s fearless spirit.
In the next segment, the character of Paul is based loosely on a friend I’ve long since lost touch with, Ron. Paul’s inclusion in the story serves several purposes as the story unfolds, but I must confess that part of his raison deter is as an excuse to include a story from Ron’s past that was too hilarious not to be included in a book someday. When it arises, I’ll point it out.
The chapter closes with Andy Jr. beginning to exhibit symptoms of what will eventually be tied back to his benzene exposure. Some of the things that happen in these early chapters will bear directly on the looming disasters. Others are more tangential. But one way or another, they all play a part.