FanStory.com - Denny and the 1956 Chevyby Debi Pick Marquette

Two batches of kids were born into our family. First came my sisters, who are eight, nine, and ten years older than me. After that were my two brothers, me, and my little brother, whom I am writing about, came four years after me.

In 1965, when my sister Barb, 18, was dating Pat, 21, they were inseparable when he was on leave from his Army base stationed in Germany. Pat loved being there because his mother was from Paris, France, and his grandmother and other relatives were there. Yet still yearned to be home, as Barb and his immediate family lived in the states.

At that time, my little brother Denny was only five years old. He adored Barb because she spoiled him rotten. He loved Pat because Denny's middle name was Patrick. At five, he already had a little ego.

Pat drove a 1956 two-door Chevrolet. One day, Denny knew they would be leaving on their date soon. He hated when they left as he was a little shadow to them whenever they were together. So he decided to become a stow away. He got in the back seat and crawled under a blanket.

It just so happened that they went to see a drive-in movie that evening, and just as they were kissing in the front seat, up popped my mischievous little five-year-old brother and said "Excuse me, but you're blocking my view." You can imagine their shock to see him there, not to mention total upset, too.

Then Denny was still begging for popcorn as they were pulling out of the theater, as both Barb and Pat knew that my parents had to be going out of their minds with worry.

Yet, it has been a fun story to tell for many years.

After all, there was a very good reason that Denny was nicknamed Dennis the Menace.