Mark wanted his father to notice to him. He didn't want to get into trouble all the time; his behavior begged for his dad's eye. Mark was a likable, intelligent and attractive boy, starved for his father's love.

Mark experienced a brush with death when four years old. Hit so hard by a semi tractor trailer, his boots flew off his feet; it is a miracle this tiny boy survived. For a few precious moments in his young life, he had his father's full attention.

At five years old, he gave himself a Mohawk with the clippers. His father, so amused by this caper, took the young boy to the neighborhood tavern to show him off to his buddies. It did not take long for Mark to learn how to make his father see him.

Six years old, Mark cut the fingers off a classmate's gloves, earned detention and the coveted attention from his father. Even punishment helped to fill the void. He needed to feel validated and settled for his father's wrath. Perhaps revenge drove him as well.

At eight years old, Mark found himself expelled from Catholic grade school. The nuns decided they did not want to deal with him. His teachers expressed no desire to give him the attention he craved, they cast him aside.

One sunny May morning, Mark and two friends decided to play hooky. They grabbed their fishing poles, and set off for a fun day at the dam. Tragedy struck when one boy fell into the swirling water. A boy drowned that day, and Mark, forever changed, learned a painful lesson. Early childhood mischief escalated to devastation. Two young lives snuffed; the boy who drowned and died that day, and Mark, who continued to drown in a sea of neglect and disregard.

Repeated truancy landed Mark in juvenile detention. It was during this season that Mark learned about fairness--or unfairness--life dishes out. He learned street smarts and he discovered how to con his way through life. Only ten years old, but prepared to look out for himself; his new attitude did not seek a father's approval any longer. He knew he did not need it to survive.