Crackling speakers were heard next and then a record player needle was heard sweeping across the vinyl LP. Alice Cooper’s “Ballad of Dwight Fry” came blaring out the windows of Grandma’s house.

A passerby gave Mom a funny look as the song’s lyrics could be heard from the upstairs window of Uncle Jim’s room:

“Mommy where’s daddy he’s been gone for so long do you think he’ll ever come home
I was gone for fourteen days I coulda been gone for more
Held up in the intensive care ward lyin’ on the floor
I was gone for all those days but I was not all alone
I made friends with a lot of people in the danger zone
See my lonely life unfold I see it every day see my only mind explode since I’ve gone away”

“He pisses me off!” Mom said in front of us. Mom rarely used profanity. “Kids, get in the car. We’ll just drive around until Grandma gets back from work.” Mom said. She put another Vantage 100 in her mouth and dug in her purse for the lighter.

“Mom, was that Alice Cooper music?” Gina asked.