Steve and Debby Turner had a traditional marriage. He’d worked his way up to foreman at Jayomar and she ran the house and mothered with the best of them. Tony and Danny took a special pride in friends’ comments that going to their house was like walking into the TV show Father Knows Best. Visitors were usually greeted by the scent of a cherry pie or a pot roast at the front door, and Debby had a way of making their friends feel welcome, even when she was preoccupied with one of her projects. She would always praise their new haircut or cool sneakers, and then break out the cookie jar.

Steve would arrive home after work around five, read the paper, drink his one beer, and then sit down to dinner and say the blessing. After the dishes were cleared, the family would gather around the television set to watch Walter Cronkite and the CBS Evening News at 6:30. Ever since that day in November 1963 when ole Walt took off his glasses, hesitated, glanced up at the clock, and choked out the exact time President Kennedy had died, Steve felt like he knew the man personally. The country could be at war, preparing to dodge nuclear missiles, rioting in the streets, landing on the moon, or queuing up at the gas pump; all would be put right or at least explained when the Turners settled into their living room to perform their simple family ritual with the rest of America.

Of course, a hardworking guy like Steve would get frustrated with those fools in Washington, New York, and Los Angeles who flew over Ohio (except during the presidential elections) but otherwise didn’t care about Ohio, and didn’t give a damn about the farmers, plumbers, auto workers, and the other “Steves” who were the backbone of the country. It seemed the politicians just couldn’t figure out how to get along, and Steve would often remark, “they’re like three bald guys fightin’ over a comb.” This would always get a laugh out of Tony and Danny, though they never could quite figure out what it meant.

They looked up to their father and knew they were lucky to have the mother they had. When 1978 rolled around and the boys made their parents proud, all was good.

But the truth was that Tony and Danny, like most teenagers, had another life, a secret life their parents didn’t know about. That’s the way it’s always been and always will be. In most cases, teenagers grow up and life moves on, but with the Turner boys, things always went a bit too far. The more they got away with, the more they pushed the envelope.