Leonie and Phinnaeus (pronounced Pa-hin-e-us, as is customary among the fluidly insane) were married in 1918, while studying philosophy at the now-defunct Omaha Maritime Institute. Leonie had always been fascinated with Eastern thought -- Confucious, Marx, Benihana -- and her obsession with a little known Filipino writer named Guac A'Molay led her to cross paths with Phinnaues (who's friends called him Hin). Hin specialized escaping the bounds of prohibition, by developing a hallucinogenic drug in his bathtub. He thought it was gin, but learned that he added too much ammonia and vinegar. The sales of his rudimentary LSD paid for a modest wedding and three-week long honeymoon in Lincoln.
Hin and Leonie had one child, Cyril. But, as is the case in the homes of most addicts, Cyril began developing habits. While never drawn to his father's "Devil Potion", Cyril developed addictions to household items. Neddless to say, the local grammar schools, while tolerant of Hin's problem, could not stand a five-year-old boy who stumbled around the building, smelling of castor oil. Two months into school, Cyril was expelled for holding the school's nurse hostage, in search of a fix.
It couldn't have happened at a worse time. The Depression had ravaged the midwest, closing OMI. Hin and Leonie lost their job, their house and, most importantly, their bathtub. They were forced to send Cyril to live with Hin's great aunt (who was really just mediocre). They never did get back on their feet.