Michael Palledorous

Growing Up… as "Squints", his nickname. Needing glassing at a young age, he’s always squinting to see, even through his thick lenses. Luckily he can see well enough to throw a baseball straight.

Living… in the early 1960s, in an American suburb. He goes out after school and plays baseball with his friends: “They never kept score, they never chose sides, they never even really stopped playing the game.” They’re just playing for the sake of playing. Such was the simple life of a kid in the suburbs back then.

Profession... middle school student, though he’d just play ball all day, every day, if he could. 

Interests… story-telling. One night in the tree house, Squints is the one who fills in the new kid Smalls on the tale of “The Beast,” a legendary man-eating dog. Squints knows how to up the ante for dramatic effect, ending his tale by repeating, “for-ev-er, for-ev-er, for-ev-er.”

Relationship Status… huge crush on Wendy Peffercorn, a lifeguard at the local public pool. But unlike the other kids, he’s actually crazy enough to do something about it. He fakes drowning, and when Wendy starts giving him mouth-to-mouth, he flashes a dumb freckled smile before going in for a big kiss, and getting kicked out of the pool for-ev-er. But it was totally worth it.

Challenge… helping Smalls get his ball back from the massive dog when it sails over the fence into no-man’s land. The ball was signed by none other than Squints’ hero, Babe Ruth.

Personality… conniving, dramatic, and gutsy. At first glance Squints may seem like the nerdy kid on account of his big glasses, but he’s slicker than that. Despite being a smallish kid, he even picks on the even-littler Smalls sometimes, just to have the pleasure of taking it out on someone else for a change. He challenges Smalls for not even knowing who Babe Ruth is: “You’ve never heard of the Sultan of Swat?” As evidenced by his big move on Wendy Peffercorn, though, Squints is a kid who’s likely going places.