I lived on a cul-de-sac in Chino and a half dozen or so neighborhood kids and I were all sort of a pseudo kid gang. The leaders of our gang were two brothers named Todd and Steven and they were great tour guides into all the “bad” things a kid might be tempted to do.

They taught me how to swear. We would walk up and down the block and they would tell me to yell individual and chains of cuss words and then laugh. Only later (when they had a new kid to teach them to) did I learn that the chained cuss words were actually ordered in such a way as to make the screamer even more ridiculous than he already was.

They taught us which windows to peek into. One window was into our neighbor’s work out room and he would do these bird-like arm-flapping motions and we’d mimic him behind his back. Others were into various bedrooms and bathrooms which, though potentially promising, never really amounted to much.

They showed us where the Playboy stashes were. A half block of houses had been destroyed by a mudslide and these houses were extremely scary and forbidden to us kids. But Todd and Steven could brave it, and somehow procured a stash of Playboys that we’d check out every once in a while, folded up and hidden under a rock.

They taught me how to break off the antennas from cars. Bend, bend, bend, bend, bend, bend, bend, BREAK! I spent the three longest weeks of my life saving my allowance and paying for the three dollar antenna I broke.

Todd or Steven (forget which) once stole my handball. It had been missing for a week or so when suddenly THEY had a new handball. I looked at it closely and saw where my name had been rubbed off (it had been written in sharpie). I stole it out of their bedroom and ran home and had to defend myself when their mom called my mom. They also stole a cup I had made at a neighbor’s house with ceramic. They were total jerks.

I remember one time we were arguing about whether or not there was a hell, and they said that there was and I (growing up atheist) knew there wasn’t. We bet something like a quarter and I shook their hand and then proudly went inside my house and took down the book I had on planets (it was dark blue and part of a series of science books for kids… others were on animals, weather, plants, rocks, etc) and came back outside and showed them the illustration of the inside of the earth. It was solid rock and lava… no room for hell down there! Haha, where’s my quarter now dorks!

I remember when I learned that I was moving to Irvine (the polar opposite of Chino), we were hanging out on their front lawn they asked me if I was going to miss our neighborhood and friends, and I distinctly remember saying no. Well, except for Brandy… my cute 2nd grade crush with blond curls and great tetherball skills.