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To those who knew him -his friends- we called him Roy. To others he was known as that horrible Toxic Boy. He loved ammonia and asbestos, and lots of cigarette smoke. What he breathed in for air would make other people choke! His very favorite toy was a can of aerosol spray; he'd sit quietly and shake it, and spray it all the day. He'd stand inside the garage in the early-morning frost, waiting for the car to start and fill him with exhaust. The one and only time I ever saw Toxic Boy cry was when some sodium chloride got into his eye. One day for fresh air they put him in the garden. His face went deathly pale and his body began to harden. The final gasp of his short life was sickly with despair. Whoever thought that you could die from breathing outdoor air? As Roy's soul left his body we all said a silent prayer. It drifted up to heaven and left a hole in the ozone layer.