"I hated them too, don't get me wrong. But I saw what they could be. Later, I realized that they were just people who had done their best. But I guess I had to wait until I'd failed enough to realize that."

Jim chuckled.

"I guess it got me laid, a bit, but it also got me beat up and mocked. Okay, maybe 'beat up' was a little strong, and it wasn't just because of that, but... No, what I meant was, if you grew up that way, without finishing high school, you must have been pretty intimidating, intellectually." He grinned. "Wonder what happened."