Story Notes
This started as a literal tale of my teenage insomnia, which was probably driven by poverty, sugar, and fear of life after high school in 1979. Making it wordless rendered those details obsolete. Is this kid brave, stupid, crazy, or desperate? It's been so long even I don't remember.
To make the story look unique, I spent some effort backwards engineering Springfield MA of the late 1970s. Period details include comic book decals, black-and-white television, Winchester Square in its decline, and malt liquor bottle cap puzzles. Like my other Springfield tales "Six-Year-Old Horse Thief" and "School Fight!", this is a fictional work built on my distant memories and old man guilt. I could easily be both characters.
Hoping that's more than you need to enjoy "I Did Nothing." Thanks for not mugging me that night.
Dave M!, reconstructing his past one anecdote at a time.