I Wish I Was A Kid Again,

California Is Like A Beautiful Wild Kid On Heroin, High As A Kite And Thinking She's On Top Of The World, Not Knowing She's Dying, Not Believing It Even If You Show Her The Marks.

I Guess I Just Couldn't See Standing There -- Alive, Talking, Thinking, Breathing, Being -- One Second, And Dead The Next. It Really Bothered Me. Death By Violence Isn't The Same As Dying Any Other Way, Accident Or Disease Or Old Age. It Just Ain't The Same.

Dally Was So Real He Scared Me.

There Isn't Any Real Good Reason For Fighting Except Self-defense.

Suddenly It Wasn't Only A Personal Thing To Me. I Could Picture Hundreds And Hundreds Of Boys Living On The Wrong Sides Of Cities, Boys With Black Eyes Who Jumped At Their Own Shadows. Hundreds Of Boys Who Maybe Watched Sunsets And Looked At Stars And Ached For Something Better. I Could See Boys Going Down Under Street Lights Because They Were Mean And Tough And Hated The World, And It Was Too Late To Tell Them That There Was Still Good In It, And They Wouldn't Believe You If You Did.