This is for Anita, my wife -
Who was with me every step of the way
What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man.
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats...
There is no school in the New York City system named North Manual Trades High School, nor is the school in these pages intended as a representation of any existing school. Likewise, the characters in this story are all fictional, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.