... to you and the others who say they know him (it's not meant as disrespect, but anyone with any long term experience with the internet knows to be cautious; still, I have no evidence to the contrary, so I take your words for it as being truthful). Sadly, such comments only make the issue even more confusing. Although only HE knows what his preceptions of how things went as a child and how he preceived his treatment, it still sound like he was average during his younger years. So what DID lead to this act, one can only imagine. Certainly, the other possibilities are still well open. His time in prison and his record while in prison may well be a sign of his leaving behind the person he once was and aquaintance with that younger self may not be helpful now, unfortunately. Still, it's good information to have. Even with all the information we get from past friends and relatives and aquaintances, we will still only know the barest fraction of that which was/is/will be Altman. Andrew