When I was a kid.

When I was a kid, sixteen or so, I played on a baseball team with a bunch of older kids. They were wiser in the ways of the world than I and I've never really been "one of the guys," so when we all hung out after games or practice I mostly kept quiet and listened to what the big kids had to say.

There was one guy on the team named Tom Nadeau who was probably ten years older than I was and had served in Viet Nam. He was a tough guy who just about everyone was a little afraid of. No one ever said, "Hey, Tom." He had trained us to ask "What's it to you, Tom Nadeau?"

Anyway, Tom had a phrase when he ran into someone he didn't like. He used to call those people "Needle-dicked bug fuckers." When I heard him say it I knew immediately what he meant. The picture was vivid in my mind.

Every so often I run into a needle-dicked bug fucker. I let the phrase play out in my head. And then I thank Tom.

Thanks, Tom.