TIM LOUCKS

Tim is a guy I first encountered at Clarke. He and I only had a couple of classes together over the years, as Tim was a regular member of special education classes. He was also a known troublemaker.

I didn't hang around with Tim. But I actually found him to be a pretty cool dude. He was very likable. He and I actually shared a locker during 8th grade. His was right above mine. Tim often had a lot of unsavory looking characters around him. On more than one occasion, I had to puish my way past some thugs in order to get to my locker.

I don't have a whole lot of memories about Tim. But one thing stands out. In the scheme of life, it's nothing really. But I always felt guilty about it.

I had Tim in Mr. Franke's science class, in 8th grade. At some point that year, we were given a fun assignment - an annual thing for Mr. Franke. Each student was to construct some sort of storage device to house an ice cube. He would check them every hour. And the ice cube that lasted the longest, that person would win a prize.

When it was all said and done, Mr. Franke read a role call of the students in our class, and asked if everyone had done the assignment. When he got to Tim's name, there was no answer, as he was out sick that day. Franke asked if anyone had seen Tim's. No one had. Then he said something to the effect of, "I doubt he did one" - and marked it in his gradebook accordingly. However, truth be told, Tim had done the assignment. I'd seen his box sitting on one of the counters. Yet I didn't speak up. That must have been the shy person in me. Tim probably failed the class. But in all honesty, he probably would have failed it anyway. So at least I can take solace in that. And Tim did get passed into high school the following year.

If memory serves, Tim was only around for freshman year. Then he was gone, having presumably dropped out. I think I ran into Tim from time to time at the video store. And I also think that Tim eventually found his name on the "do not rent" list we had.

Today Tim appears to live in Two Rivers. I don't think he's married. But I could be wrong. Tim has had a few brushes with the law, including five drunk driving offenses. At this moment, it looks like he is in the middle of serving one year in prison for the most recent offense. Although he is allowed out for employment.