Here’s my most memorable actual experience with bruises….

My neighbor across the street had done some mechanical work on my old ’72 Ranchero. One day the bell on the gate to my large, gated compound rang, I answered it and there was this VERY cute, angelic-looking boy, probably around 14, standing there. He explained that he was now living for a while with his grand-dad ( he had a 1-bedroom duplex unit) across the street and he was returning a mechanic’s manual I had loaned him.

I was totally in shock when I saw the very obvious deep bruises on the boy’s neck….in fact I was too much in shock to even comment (although I’m sure I stared quite obviously). the boy was wearing a tank-top that did nothing to hide the multiple dark bruises that seemed to go all around his slender neck. Later I felt guilty remorse that I hadn’t asked the boy about the bruises. Maybe his Grandfather had abused him for some reason (he was a rather rough and brutal old retired mechanic and was probably capable of such). But I also speculated that perhaps the boy had been experimenting with auto-asphyxiation or even auto-hanging (as I understand is not uncommon among some high-school kids these days).