If you’re wondering whether there is more background to this story I can confirm that there is not. This kid (he was high school age, but I’m old enough to call everybody “kid” now, so don’t take it personally) emailed me totally out of the blue and said I should write about him. Never met him before or since, but I admired his pluck and nobody’s ever tried asking straight up like that before. So I indulged him. However, the next person who tries is going to need to be much more convincing. [October 11th, 2013]