I enjoyed the hell out of my teen years. It was easy to do, though, because I was a hippy attending an amazing Summerhill sort of experimental high school. I earned part of a gym credit backpacking, mountain climbing, and canoe camping in wilderness areas in the northeastern US and parts of Canada with my friends. What's not to love? In fact, the Mudcat reminds me a lof of my high school. Maybe that's why I glommed onto it so tightly.

So I guess, in a way, I'm reliving my teenage right now here in the Mudcat.

Re: meeting heroes... I don't generally tend to have heroes, but Paul Oorts became a hero for me the day he showed up at O'Hurley's jam with his accordion, and forever changed the course of my life by inspiring me to want to learn to play the box.