This Boy's Life Part 6, Chapter 1 Summary

  • Jack begins his delightfully Dwight-free life. Apparently, it involves Chuck getting drunk every night.
  • Sometimes Chuck is a happy drunk; many times, he is an angry drunk. "Angry drunk" often means deliberately running into things.
  • The two often go over to Veronica's house when the rest of the family has gone to sleep. Chuck drives home drunk, which likely gives Jack full-bore Dwight flashbacks.
  • Also, the Bolgers are religious, and make Jack go to church, even though they don't ask him to convert.
  • Jack finds himself getting into the music at Church: lively and gospel-y, with lots of singing and dancing. He never joins in though, afraid that Chuck will mock him and Mr. Bolger will see it as a sham.
  • One night, Jack, Chuck and the gang decide to drive to Bellingham. But they don't have enough gas. Solution? Steal some!
  • They swipe some gas from a nearby farm, the Welch farm, but the effort tires them out and they go to bed without going to Bellingham.
  • Chuck's dad call them on the theft (Mr. Welch had a word with him). Unlike Dwight, Mr. Bolger has a reasonable plan to discipline them: give the gas back and apologize.
  • They go to the farm. Chuck apologizes, but Jack can't. He is filled with bitter, bitter shame.
  • Mr. Bolger talks to the boys about it. When he hears that Jack didn't apologize, he says that he'll have to call Jack's mom to come get him.
  • Jack's mom shows up and pleads his case. She has to beg them to get them to take him back. Also, he gets to work on the Welch's farm and have a "talk" with Father Karl.
  • He and Chuck used to do their chores together. Now they are alone, and work in silence.
  • Father Karl shows up to talk to Jack. Jack expects a lot of, um, preaching. Instead, Father Karl asks him what he wants to do with his life, and why he thinks he's screwing it up. Jack hems and haws through a series of non-answers.