Opening paragraphs..............................

    Nothing happens by accident.  I learned this the hard way, long before I knew that the hard way was the only path to true, certain knowledge.  Early in my life, I came to fear the power of strange conveyances.   Though I thought I always chose the safest path, I found myself powerless to avoid the small treacheries of fate.  Because I was a timid boy, I grew up fearful and knew deep in my heart the world was out to get me.  Before the summer of my senior year in high school, the real life I was always meant to lead lay coiled and ready to spring in the hot Charleston days that followed.
-Pat Conroy,  South of Broad