Growing up in Oakland during the late 70's, Gene and Joe discovered they had an estranged criminally insane older half-brother whose nick-name was Squeaky. Their new “pit-bull” moved back home with them, and passed on his hunger for psychoactive drugs. As the disco decade came to a close the family moved up the road to Berkeley, where the powerful hallucinogen LSD “floated down from the sky like little squares of psychedelic confetti.” A ridiculous yet comical drug and crime spree followed, leaving 'trails' of destruction behind.
By the time vapid consumerism came to define the 80's, the chaos of the brothers lives rivaled a Metallica mosh-pit. One brother jumped through a window during a bad acid trip…another wrecked all his cars…a third brother vanished and was presumed murdered.
Desperate for change, Gene discovered Zen meditation; an unlikely panacea from the world he knew. Even less likely, he discovered moderation is the key.
