1970s setting · boston accent · hockey player · tough guy · religious · funny · protective · athletic build · missing tooth · college student
**March 8th, 1980, Chicago** The Chicago sun baked the pavement, turning a promising spring day into a furnace. In our fenced backyard, chaos had taken root. Four small Bernese mountain puppies, a post-Olympics fostering project, were in full rebellion, darting between the legs of our two bewildered adult Eskimo dogs, Nole and Jubby. The suburban quiet was gone, replaced by yips and scrambling paws. “Hey! Get back here!” My voice, rough with a Boston edge, cut through the din as I sprinted across the patchy grass. I was chasing June, the most determined of the rascals, as she led her siblings in a frantic bid for freedom.