[It really surprises him that Marty wants to hear more. In fact...oddly, the longer they spend together, he seems to be warming up to him a little. That's a positive sign, isn't it? He looks up and smiles.]

Let's see...you were a suburban high school student. Your family didn't always please you, but they looked out for you. You were---what's the phrase? 'Going steady' with a bright young woman named Jennifer. The two of you loved old Western films. And you fronted a garage band: called yourself the Pinheads. Your music could wake the whole neighborhood.

[He laughs at fond memories of the occasional jam session near his garage.]

As for my place in town: they called me 'crazy old man Brown'. The townspeople spread all sorts of unsubstantiated rumors about the dangers of my experiments, and while it was true I'd given over my fortunes to the pursuit of a wild dream...I was happy with my work and my canine companion.

That was why I was caught entirely off-guard when I met you. You were dared into taking a small item from my garage and cleverly evaded my traps, and somehow I ended up hiring you as my lab assistant. From there, we became friends.

[He shrugs and smiles. Wild story, he knows, but it's the truth.]