SETTING: The setting of That Was Then, This Is Now was the neighborhood. It's not the fanciest place, so a lot of bad things happen there, like when Mark gets into a fight and has a huge gash on the side of his head and is rushed away to the emergency room to get ten stitches. Another place is Charlie's Bar. Bryon and Mark to bump into people at the pool and talk to their friend Charlie, the bartender and owner of the bar.PLOT:The story begins with our main characters Bryon and Mark, two best friends who have been living with Byron's mother since The Mark's parents died, hoping to hustle some people at their friend Charlie's local bar, but they leave after having a soda as there was no one there except them and Charlie. The next day, the two went to visit their mother who was in the hospital after major surgery. They are there despite needing money because the medical bills are expensive for his operation, so Byron says he is going to get a job. to help him pay for medical bills, on the way home he meets Cathy, Byron's older sister and Mark's good friend who they call M&M, because he always has M&M candies on him whenever they see him, they talk for a while and he offers to take her on a date, she says yes. On this date, Byron took Cathy to a local dance, where they met Mark and his friends, who later end up in a fight during which Byron takes Mark to the hospital where he had received ten stitches on his side of the head. was cut. A few days later at school, Mark has gotten into trouble while hot-wiring the principal's car and takes a joy ride in it, at this point Byron has had enough of the immaturity Mark is displaying. After this crazy stunt and a few moments apart, Byron and Mark head to... middle of paper ...no matter what you do as a kid, you might want to be a kid forever, but this is not the case. like that. Growing up is part of life. Everyone does it. Why not start when you are supposed to start growing and becoming a real man. PERSONAL RELEVANCE: My take on That Was Then, This Is Now is that growing up is a part of life. What I mean is go with the flow of life. You could act like a child for a long time BAM! Reality hits you over the head and says hey, guess what? You will be made fun of if you continue to act like this. I learned from experience that you don't have to grow up like everyone else. Sometimes growing up means following your own path in life and some of your current plans that are mapped out for you may not include your current friends that you are talking to right now.