Among the kids whom stood out in intelligence and maturity was a guy nick-named Swamp Man... no, I'm not kidding! Swamp Man was a kid of fourteen whom grew up next to a Georgia swamp. He told fascinating stories of his father whom took him hunting and exploring among the cypress and musty waters every weekend. "And I learned to travel the swamp with out detection and I can survive off the edible plants that grow all year long!" Swamp man had an idea: "They could avoid detection by slipping into the swamp! Once inside the "protection" of the swamp, they could journey several hours and be right on the North Carolina State line!

As a New York City boy, whose only experience with the wilderness thus far was hunting in a forest in Georgia and the desert of New Mexico, Joe was not to sure...

"A SWAMP! You want us to go into A SWAMP! What? Are you kidding or what? Especially after all of your stories of alligators, snakes, and people getting lost never to be seen again...and what about those people who live in the swamp!" He asked as thoughts of a tribe of Pigny's running around looking for the kid whom stole their stolen car....

"Hey, Mike, we can do it... It's the best choice."

A strong smell of rotting vegetation--sulfur like--permeated everything. No snakes or gaiters chanced their way, but other perky pests made them wish to be eaten to end their misery... mosquitoes, gnats?, and huge "horse flys" buzzed and bit into the tender flesh of it's prey, sucking the body dry while irritating the eyes, nose, and mouths of it's victims. He had just about removed his person from the never ending, waste-deep, muck and slime by dragging himself onto what looked like a teaspoon full of dry land... when it disappeared... and once more Joe plopped into the yuck!. ..

"Hey, Jimmy, where are you?"

"Stuck in the darn mud!":

"Swamp man... seems like we've been going 'round n' 'round in circles for hours, ain't that the lights of the compound waaayyyy over there?" Joe asked, pointing to a hazy patch of light in the sky about a mile away.

"No, that's something else.."

"Man, it's cold in nothing but tee shirts." Joe--another one of their sinco--cried out.

They were sitting upon what truly was the only piece of "dry mud" in the entire doggone swamp; they were sure of this because they felt they had traversed the entire swamp! It measured large enough for four of them--they lost Jimmy some where?-- as long as they bunched close together, to remain semi-dry-- that is the top half! Cut and bleeding from saw grass and standing semi-thigh deep in mud with their arms tucked into their short sleeved shirts--like sacks with holes cut so they could pop their heads inside, warm their chests with their breath, and then pop them out again--they were a miserable lot! Samuel had already passed out from hyperventilating twice! Air boats and helicopters criss-crossing the swamp in their search and the dawn arising signaled the end of their "break out"......

"You now what... should call Swamp Man The Lost Man?! What happened to all of your talk?" Joe asked him. .

His reply was simple... "It's not like the Georgia swamp...."

They made it to the road, sat down, and waited for the inevitable police car to come by. When it did, they just meekly entered and sat down for the ride back... but not to the center, rather the County Jail where a cell was emptied of occupants and reserved for the "Juvies whom escaped"....

A jail, a zoo keeper, and a hose: he's swamping them with water to remove the swamp mud they picked up from the swamp--for some reason, the word swamp became muck to them... HA! HA!

And, there he was, two months shy of his fourteenth birthday, locked up in a jail... again! After a weeks stay, they had allowed three of them to return to the center... Including you know who...The Swamp Man. They, Samuel and he, wished him the best--and hoped the alligators in Georgia would think the same.. THE BEST DAMN TASTING SWAMP MAN THEY EVER DID ATE! They kept Joe--of course--and Samuel, whom was black AND the guy whom tripped the watchman! Pressure was applied to discover his identity with threats of eternal lock down! He answered the call...

He began to throw the food at the guards. Called them names. Began a protest that spread the entire wing. Began tattooing Samuel and he. When they burnt their sheets and mattresses the authorities had had enough!

"But you can't do this to me!"

Struggle! Rip! Tear! He is naked and thrown into the "Ice Chest" -- again.

The only thing different from the ice down in Spotford and The Princess Ann County Jail was one was colder; the food worse; and where one used the shower and bathroom twice a day in the Spot, here it was a pail...

The chiggers were horrendous, living in the concrete, seeming to come out at night. Joe itched all night, and then, when the sun arose, peaking a beam into the cell through the crack at the top of the door, they would disappeared. At least he believed them to be chiggers... kept seeing little red things!

After five days of torture, they came for him and brought him back to the cell and his buddy Samuel. Once there, Samuel informed him they were letting him go home. Joe was told a hearingt would be heard in two days on his "case": He was to see a judge whom would determine his fate!

Joe was to see the judge, he needed the proper attire and look if he was to get out: he got ready like any other young man!...

He cut the sleeves and collar off his jail house shirt and tore them into strips. Then, after cutting along the side seams of his shirt and pants, he cut small holes the lengths of both and used the strips to criss-cross them back together, leaving small pieces to form a fringe the entire length of the pants and shirt sides. Then he sat down for his hair cut!

"OH, MY GOD! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Harry, that's the jailer when he came to get him for this very important day.

"Docket number 347654B? State of Virginia, In The County Of Princess Ann. ...calls The Defendant, John Doe, Juvenile, To The Dock."

" OH! MY GOD, WHOM ARE YOU!" Harry, that's the bailiff when he walked into the court!

"OH MY GOD! GET THIS IDIOT OUT OF MY COURT! NOW! REMOVE HIM FROM MY PRESENCE! Harry, that's the judge when he threw Joe out of his court room!

Exactly one week later, they came for him. "MIKE, OR WHAT EVER YOUR NAME IS, GET YOUR STUFF! LETS GO! GET YOUR STUFF! FRONT AND CENTER!"

Two state troopers in two cars and a city policeman drove him to the bus stain.

"We getting a ticket to Miami for you." (Joe had told the authorities he lived in Miami so they would not check with the New York authorities.)

"MMM, Miami, just where I wanna go." He replied.

"One ticket, ONE WAY, to Miami please. The first available bus!"

"Mike you hungry?"

"MMM. Yea."

"Chump, Chomp, Crunch, Munch. That was great..."

"Would you like anything else?"

"MMM. Well... No Thank you."

"ALL ABOARD! LAST BUS TO Miami!"

"Here is one hundred dollars... and don't come back! EVER!"

"Oh, thank you. No, I won't come back!"

"OH MY GOD!" Harry, that's the bus driver when Joe boarded the bus!

"He's harmless.. and has a ticket!"-- State Trooper to the driver...

All the way to the State line, one forward, one behind the bus, the tandem Troopers made sure he never left that bus!