My brother, ten years my senior, was neither sporty nor macho, so the more mainstream fellows my sisters dated were interesting creatures to adolescent Danny. As one of them waited for my sister to iron her hair (yes, steam iron and board), he shared a vivid childhood account.

Once, he and his running buddies were playing at a weekend-dormant construction site. The project involved adding a wing to our largest nursing home. Anyway, they became enamored with one of the large empty…