Jim and I were childhood friends...drifted a bit through separate High Schools but have always remained in touch.
He and I used to build underground forts with "escape" tunnels and had studs inset in the dirt walls, and even insulated!
We'd do construction site cleanup at the houses they built near us, take any and all scraps to build our "empire".
He is now a metal shop instructor, has been a mechanic and also done appliance repair. Has a pilots license, has a darkroom, woodshop and quite a collection of historical negatives from our hometown. He can build a home or a car from scratch, and has talked me through many an appliance repairs over the years.
This photo was taken while visiting last June in Illinois, against the 100 year old barn he is restoring as four level workshop and home. Printed in his darkroom on old azo which he picked up at a garage sale or auction. He has an affinity for auctions..