And so we move forth

As you can probably tell I was my dad's little shadow for several years to come. Road motorcycles with him until I got a bicycle, at age 5, then road those with him. Then a year or two later I joined the DC Road Runners Club and began long distance jogging. Well that was enjoyable for a few years until I found Soccer, running and kicking a ball, what fun. Did that til we moved when I was about 10. A few yrs past then I found my love for softball, played that from about 13 all the way thru my senior year in High School, as well as being a total band geek and playing the alto and soprano saxophone from 5th grade on. Yes, I was fairly well rounded. Playing sports and musical instruments, did fairly well in school. At about age 12 my parents decided that they would provide my needs but if I had wants then it was up to me to get them. So, I was off to find work, did standard neighborhood stuff; mowing lawns, raking leaves, shoveling snow but eventually I got a "real job" with a "real paycheck". That happened a month before I turned 13, yes we are talking Virginia and I had to get a work permit from the city. I had a great time, learned about growing up and responsibility. Worked my first job for 2 1/2 yrs, then moved on to a better paying job so when I turned 16 I was able to buy my first car, pay for insurance and even afford gas for it...yippee. Well, that was all fine and dandy but that is where things changed with my dad and I. I think he felt I no longer needed him so we grew apart. That was a very sad part of my life. We barely spoke but still lived under the same roof. I even remember almost coming to physical blows with him cause we did not agree. Side note, I'm 5'4" and he was 6', definite size difference. I fortunately had wonderful friends that I could go to when times got tough as they often did.

Just to add another slight twist to things my grandmother, dads mom, had an aneurysm in the frontal lobe of her brain back in 1984, which left her in a coma for a week and a half, they performed surgery and released the pressure and she survived. She spent 3 more months in the hospital and then because she required additional therapy we refurnished the basement in our house to accommodate her and she moved in. She was never left alone, we had therapists, physical, occupational, and speech, coming several times a week and when they were not there we all pitched in and ran her thru it all ourselves. The doctor initially stated upon leaving the hospital that she might live for a year and would probably never walk on her own again. Well, they did not know her stubbornness, she not only walked on her own in under a year but lived for an additional 10 yrs, she was not gonna let those doctors tell her what she could or could not do with her life, yeah she was very spunky.

At 18 I moved out and moved in with 3 friends in an apartment and lived there until my next adventure began, The United States Air Force...dah dah daaaaa, key the scary music.