The Secret History of RickyBoy and The System: Part I: The Early Years

I'm sure all will agree that RickyBoy's The System [view link] is the single most important article in the history of TUSCL. Now my good friend JuicyJ and I wanted to learn more about the man who invented this The System and the history behind its invention. We did find an article RickyBoy himself had written that gave some insights into his "personality damage" and hinted at the troubled early life of the man who spent ten years inventing this The System: [view link] But we wanted to learn more! We tried to contact RickyBoy directly for some details, but he refused to answer our questions. Thus we were forced to track down and locate people from RickyBoy's early life to get the answers we were after. The interviews went as follows: [Ed]: Please tell us the basics about the family RickyBoy grew up in. [Rick's Aunt Sue]: RickyBoy was an only child. He grew up living with his mother and father in a town neighboring the town that his Uncle Vince (my husband) and I lived in. The town RickyBoy grew up in was smaller and poorer compared ours. [Ed]: What was the relationship like between the brothers: Rick's Uncle and his father? [Rick's Aunt Sue]: Originally it was pretty good. Rick's father was on track to be a corporate lawyer while Rick's uncle was gradually building up a small business selling promising race horses across the country. [Ed]: You said it started that way. What happened? [Rick's Aunt Sue]: Unfortunately, Rick's father got into a tragic accident one day. Rick had to be picked up from pre-school because he had an ear infection. On the way, however, Rick's father got into a car accident and was left paralyzed from the waist down. To make matters worse, Rick's father had ducked out of work to pick up Rick to take him to the doctor without notifying his employer. The company he worked for had found a loophole in the contract which allowed them to reduce the disability payments because of this. Rick's father was very resentful toward the world after that for the randomness and unfairness of the accident had befallen him. After that, he would often go into rants about the injustices of the world and complain endlessly. My brother got sick of this quite quickly and it strained relations between them. [Ed]: Wow! That's terrible! What was Rick's relation with his father and mother like? [Rick's Aunt Sue]: Rick was always a rather anxious child. At first he seemed to like both parents, but after the accident Rick began to look down on his father. His father was picking up on this and, after that, many times Rick himself would become the target of the rants. Rick's mother, meanwhile, didn't do much of anything. She was nice enough to Rick but didn't intervene when his father went off. [Ed]: Gee! That's terrible. Did Rick get along with you and his Uncle? [Rick's Aunt Sue]: He seemed to like his uncle better than his father. Especially the way his uncle dressed and how he was able to put at ease with humor. Also, our own family became wealthier since my husband was able to work and grow the business while Rick's father was no longer able to work. Rick told us on a number of occasions that he wished he had grow up with us instead. [*] To get some ideas about Rick's uncle and aunt we decided to talk to Rick's mother [Ed]: So Rick had no siblings. How did he get along with his cousins? [Rick's Mother]: Generally pretty good, but sometimes his cousins would tease him because their family had more money, and also about his father. [Ed]: Rick's aunt mentioned some strain in relations between his father and uncle. Can you tell us more about that? [Rick's Mother]: Well Rick's uncle did not care at all for the complaining. Rick's father, on the other hand, thought that Rick's uncle had only got to his place in life through shady business dealings. [Ed]: Shady business dealing? Can you elaborate on that? [Rick's Mother]: Well Rick's uncle sold race horses across the country but there were rumors that he would misrepresent the horse's lineage and record at the track. It was also felt, from some of the large amounts of money he received for some horses, that it was not always duping. Money laundering was also suspected. [Ed]: Wow! I can see how that could strain family relations. [Rick's Mother]: Yes. [Ed]: Changing gear a bit. What was it like for Rick in school? [Rick's Mother]: Rick was anxious in school and, also, because our family was not the wealthiest, and because his father was in a wheelchair he did receive a fair amount of teasing at school. [Ed]: What did his teachers think of him? [Rick's Mother]: Rick got in trouble a number of times because he would always lie. He did ever since he could talk. It was almost like it was programmed into him by genetics our something. He could never stop. Even when it was obvious that others were onto him he would just keep going and going. Rick also got in trouble for petty theft a time or two. [Ed]: Wow! Sounds like he was in danger of falling in with the real bad seeds at school. [Rick's Mother]: Yes, we were worried about that, but it didn't happen. Although he was considered a "bad kid" his anxiety meant the really bad kids didn't want to hang around him. And the wealthier kids avoided him as well. He was quite lonely at that point. [*] To get some more ideas about Rick's school life we talked to his neighbor Jill - a girl in school around Rick's age. [Ed]: So we understand that Rick was quite anxious and lonely in school and something of a "bad kid". Did he have any friends? [Rick's neighbor Jill]: Not many when he was young. I thought sorry for the family situation, the terrible car accident and all, and I tried to take Rick a bit under my wing. He wasn't all bad. [Ed]: What do you mean "not all bad"? [Rick's neighbor Jill]: Well when Rick was young he seemed to have no natural understanding of how people and human relations worked. It was like everything had to be a rule for him. As he got older, however, he was gaining some confidence. I think his Uncle was helping him along, giving he clues regarding human behavior. Rick really idolized his Uncle. Especially the way he looked (his uncle was a very handsome man) and dressed. Rick just loved spending time with Uncle. There were rumors it went beyond that... But that's something I shouldn't talk about. So back to your question... Rick was developing something of a sense of humor as he was getting older which helped him become more popular. [Ed]: That's interesting, sounds like things were looking on the up for our RickyBoy? [Rick's neighbor Jill]: Well they seemed to be. But the thing about his father always hung over him and was weighing increasingly heavily on his mother. When Rick was 14 his mother couldn't take it anymore and the parents got divorced. Rick's mother go custody and Rick went to live with her, meaning fewer visits to his cherished Uncle. Again, Rick did not react well to that and went into a very melancholic period. Shut himself off from the tenative friendships he was inching his way toward making. [Ed]: Bad luck again! Did Rick ever pull out of that? [Rick's neighbor Jill]: It took a while. His Uncle had been the only really solid foundation in his life and when that gone he was just drifting. Even lost his sense of humor for a time. But then, of all things, he did get to see his Uncle again. An outing to see the movie "Wall Street". [Ed]: What kind of an affect did that movie have on Rick? [Rick's neighbor Jill]: Oh, he was completely transformed! Completely idolized Gordon Gekko. He would talk to me about Gordon and the contrast with his father. While his father he saw as weak and someone who complained about the injustices and unfairness of the world, Gordon completely embraced it and turned it to his advantage. All that money all that power. Rick stole the VHS tape and most have watched that move a dozen times when his mother wasn't around. Even started talking like Gordon Gekko. He would say things to kids at school like "Ok, kiddo!" He was driven. He wanted to be as much like Gordon Gekko as he could. Go to a good school. Study business. Work on Wall Street. Actually become Gordon Gekko. [Ed]: Seems like Gordon Gekko had come to fill the void created in Rick's now that he couldn't see his uncle as often. [Rick's neighbor Jill]: Yes, very much so. There was a very odd story Rick related to me. How when going out with father on "business errands" his uncle would often duck into the homes of some very lovely women while Rick waited in the car. Rick's uncle made him swear not to tell anyone, but I guess he trusted me. At first Rick didn't really understand but as time went on, he started to figure out the truth, but, strangely, it seemed to be something he admired. [Ed]: Was there trouble with Rick's Aunt? [Rick's neighbor Jill]: Not exactly. She was a very beautiful woman. Some said a "trophy wife". She really didn't do much just stood to the side and let Rick's uncle handle everything. [Ed]: Were there any strong women in Rick's family? [Rick's neighbor Jill]: Not really. [Ed]: Okay, changing gears then, it sounds like those dreams Rick had of becoming Gordon Gekko would have taken some work in school? [Rick's neighbor Jill]: That's true, and the truth is that Rick rather preferred sneaking out to drink with friends rather than studying when he could during this time. His friends were getting a bit sick of his arrogant "I am Gordon Gekko" attitude. He was about to get cut off, but it seemed he was learning another skill - telling people what they wanted to hear. That kept him in there (barely) enough for them to taking him out drinking occasionally but not nearly as often as he wished. [Ed]: So did Rick study at all? [Rick's neighbor Jill]: Not much. He did well in softer subjects where he could just write what he thought teachers wanted to here. Science was a challenge for him despite his love of "rules" and "patterns". [Ed]: So was he successful in the end? [Rick's neighbor Jill]: We were all amazed when he managed to get accepted to one of the lesser more prestigious schools in the country. Rumors circulated that his uncle might have pulled some strings, since his grades were a little weak. [Ed]: One final question for now. What was Rick's dating life like in high school? [Rick's neighbor Jill]: Well Rick's anxiety definitely limited him, but a bigger problem was that he would only try for the best looking and richer girls and invariably get shot down immediately. The few times he did manage to go on a date they were quite turned off by his Gordon Gekko like speech, phony mannerisms and general arrogance and pretention. Rick was never able to score a prom date, but after considerable pressure from my own and his family I agreed to accompany him. He was almost giddy with delight. [Ed]: Did he try to make any moves on you that night? [Rick's neighbor Jill]: Yes, very nervously. I really didn't like him that way, though, and when I told him so he was very apologetic and almost broke down crying. I really felt badly for him. JuicyJ and I were fascinated by this and quite eager to hear more, but it would have to wait for another interview session.... [Coming Soon Part II: RickyBoy's College and Early Working Years]