My brothers, sister, and Dad

Now, I’m sure you realize that there is no real way I can “remember” this time period in my life, What memories I do have are fuzzy at best so I am mostly going by stories I have been told, things I have heard, and stuff I am probably getting confused.  But hey, as long as it makes for a good story who cares, right?

I know I haven’t mentioned my father yet.  I don’t really have that much to say about him unfortunately.  I was conceived on what my mother called her “lost weekend”. My mom and dad separated in March or April of 1977.  My father had a drinking problem and would sometimes go too far.  My mother loved my father very much, but it was difficult to live with him during these times.  When I popped into the picture they were trying to reconcile.

My brother Bobby

Unfortunately the damage to my father’s organs had already been done.  The years of alcoholic abuse had taken their toll.  On June 17, 1981 my father had a massive myocardial infarction or, a heart attack.  He did not survive.  This was a very difficult time for my mother.  She had not only a child with special needs, but she had three other children to raise.  Robert 12, Tammy 14, and Timmy 16.  Add to these unfortunate circumstances the fact that we were extremely poor, and you have a volatile state of events waiting for the spark that will set it all off.

My brother Tim

When my brother was 18 he moved to Tennessee to live with my father’s side of the family.  Bobby had started hanging out with the wrong crowd doing things he would pay for later in life, but that’s his story not mine.  My sister started dating a man that would father her four children.  They got married when Tammy was 17.  I’ll talk more about my siblings throughout this story, but this is my story not theirs, so I will only focus on the points that intersect my own tale.

My sister Tammy

So we were starting to grow apart and live our own lives.  I was living with my Grandmother who had been a school teacher back when she was younger.  My mom thought this would be better for me because of the difficulties she was having.  I was going to be starting school soon and they were going to send me to a school for people with special challenges.  Grandma and I lived in Sacramento and my mom lived in Yuba City.  These two cities are about 30 miles apart, so I didn’t see my mom but once every two weeks. This arrangement wouldn’t last long though, because soon enough we would all live in the same area.