A teen’s life is complicated.  Add an overworked dad, a distraught mom.
Enter an old man from the wrong side of the tracks.
He knows things.  He’s there when you need him.
 
This happens to someone; it’s not a maybe thing.  People get hurt.  People die.  There’s a dad who loves his kid but works all the time.  When he doesn’t work, he drinks.  When he drinks he’s out of control.

There’s a mom.  She knows dad is overworked, a good man carrying too much responsibility. 

The kid turns to the handy man to learn a man’s skills.  In the old man from the wrong side of the tracks, the kid finds unusual skills and terrible—but true—lessons.  He finds that his own safety comes at a cost to his unfortunate friend.  He finds growing up comes at a cost to himself.  This is the story of such a kid, told by himself after he has lived much of his life, come to terms with his parents’ weaknesses, and learned that seemingly insignificant people carry more pain than he can imagine, though he has already seen plenty.