I knew a guy in Detroit - let's call him Ed - who was a model building penpal when I was a teen. His abusive father was long dead (he was still very angry over that) and Ed now lived with his disabled elderly mother in the same house he grew up in; as far as I know Ed never once moved out for any length of time. Ed had no female interaction except the occasional +*!%%*. I later pieced together that he survived on his mother's disability and whatever pension his dad left behind, and his life, as far as I could tell, consisted of caring for his mother and the house, building and rebuilding monster models, reading monster mags and watching sci-fi VHS. I recall he was 28 in 1981, when we first started writing, so he was a true monster kid of the first generation.

Ed was intelligent and witty and well-informed. He never wrote anything improper or perverse, as people today might automatically suspect; all was above board but he was just enough "off" enough that my dad wisely scanned his letters to me. The bulk of our correspondence was sending each other pics of models we built. Ed taught me the invaluable technique of drybrushing kits to bring out detail.

I wrote him back a few years ago, out of the blue. I was surprised he answered as it'd been over 15 years. After a few catch up letters and a phone call (Ed refused the internet entirely...probably couldn't afford it or a computer), he did send a videotape of what remained of his dusty model collection. He also showed me how far his neighborhood -- Dearborn is at the end of the street -- had deteriorated since the pics I'd seen of it in the '80s. Quite, quite depressing. He couldn't have resold the house if he wanted or was able to.

An argument soon sparked over a secondary matter and it broke contact that will never be reestablished. Suffice to say, it made me realize that if Ed was not psychotic before, he is now.

At the end of the video Ed showed himself. What there were of Ed's teeth -- no lie -- looked like something out of Chaney's makeup kit. He was a truly degraded, degenerated man -- physically and mentally. I would have helped him if I could, but it was impossible.

I'm writing this only because this guy Froggy reminds me a lot of Ed in so many ways, and I feel so sad for both. But choosing to pursue fantasy in place of reality - as both these men did - always leads to self-delusion and the permanent warping of the mind and soul.

Last Edited By: countplastica Dec 4 11 6:38 PM. Edited 1 times.