Contents
- New Jersey: A wonderer is born
- Grandpa tell me about the good ol' days
- Welcome to the sunshine state
- Florida Social Services
- Instant Step-Family (just add alcohol)
- 1st time abroad: Germany
- California here I come, right back where I started from
- Back to Florida (again)
- Welcome to the Commonwealth
- Massachusetts Department of Social Services
- Dating a Mason
- Life of a Nanny
- 1st class: It's a life style
- Wear the crest of the Commonwealth
- Academy
- Sometimes the love of your life, isn't love at first site
- Fire house
- Cross-country trip: Fire Storm "98
- Our last box alarms
- PMS: Poor Me Syndrome
- Trying to live again, let alone love again
- Suicide by train
- 9/11: Ground Zero recovery efforts
- Getting to know my Father again
- Home Invasion
- Life Lesson #579: Never share a sole account with a significant other
- Murphy"s Law
- I loved my Tallahassee baby
- My Fathers last plight
- Anyone up for playing house?
- Happy friggen' New Year to you too!
- Meeting your blood
- Back to the start, no really…
- Opportunity knocks
- Another May-day
- Closure in Las Vegas
- Off-Road
- Now to be, Frank…
- Bentley's Amendment's
- I want to be proved wrong
- Thirty-one points of conclusion from thirty-two years
- Soundtrack
New Jersey: A Wonderer is Born!
When I was twelve or eleven my parents were still married and we had moved from Lompoc, California to Palm Bay, Florida. My Father later revealed to me that the reason we moved is that Mom wanted to be closer to Ozzy and Karen a couple they had known in Ft Lauderdale where we had lived prior to moving to California, and that move was to be closer to Henry and Jenny who my parents had met when my Dad was stationed in Germany previous to meeting my Mom there and getting married.
They were married in Germany, and were to return to Little Falls, New Jersey where my Father was from. My Father was stationed at Ramstien AFB, as a bomb loader and ordinance specialist for the United States Air Force. Soon after coming to this country they adopted me, and the adventure began.
After adopting me when I was barely three days old, in New Brunswick back in 1975, they remained in Little Falls for a few years and soon relocated to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. We lived there until I was six years old I believe. From there we relocated to Lompoc, California. Pretty much there is where my childhood memories begin. I remember small things, when we lived in Ft. Lauderdale. One primary thing was that my Fathers parents, had relocated from New Jersey after we did, and had a home right behind ours.
I don't know if I am picturing this particular memory because of how many times I heard the story told, or that I actually remember it. Apparently I was about five or so, and I was excited to go over to my Grandma's house, so when Mom said I could finally go I dashed across our joined yards, under the awkward leaning cloths line cables, and into Grandma's back door sliding door.
Grandma used to watch the Price is Right a lot, and apparently I was interrupting her daily rendezvous with Bob Barker, because she was a little aggravated every time I was playing with something in the house. I guess I had a temper tantrum at one point and threw a glass of orange juice that she had poured me when I came in.
She got up so fast the huge marble ash tray that was on the arm of the rocking recliner she was sitting in, went flying and ordered me to get out and go home. Now, my grandma was a typical Italian house wife from New Jersey, she stood about five foot three, and maybe was a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet. But I knew at five years old, she was bigger and faster then me so off I ran, across the yard seeking refuge from my mom in her kitchen. I was crying at this point, the typical five year old whimper where the upper and lower lips start to convulse uncontrollably as you are drastically taking air in through your mouth. This is usually coupled with a slight body tremor and snot trickling out of your nose, almost across your lips too! When my mother succumbed to my tears and whimpering, she asked “What's wrong now?”. I instantly replied “I frew the orange juice, she frew the ashtray, and then frew me out!
Lompuke, Lompock, Lompoc
When we first moved to California, we lived in Lompoc. It is settled a little north of Santa Barbara, and sad to say the only thing this town is really known for outside of a small beach, was the State Penitentiary. Additionally that we were a little south of Vandenberg AFB, that happened to have a huge incident with a mushroom cloud after a rather large explosion like right after we moved there. This is also where the shuttle goes for repairs and inspections after deployment, and before returning back to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
