Before I forget

First memories, yellow car, crossing Charleston bridge to stay with Dad. I must be about 3, because Erik is born and a baby. Out to the island of S.C. coast, there's a dog, scared to get out bed.

On granddad's farm, rural Columbia S.C. racing to the main house to eat Captain Crunch from Aunt Evelyn's kitchen.

We are in a trailer further down the end of the farm, there is another trailer, an older woman there with coins in a jar on her coffee table.

There is a large pool of cow poop we are supposed to avoid, I don't remember many cows though.. just soybeans. Lots of soybeans.

I guess we were here a few years, but not many memories... do remember racing back and forth inside a little car, trying to climb from the front to the back.. didn't want out of the car.. was that to go to Granddad's with Martha? Don't think we liked it there, but have been about 5. Liked being with our fun Aunt Evelyn on the weekends (?) hated going to Martha's/Granddad's. This must have been when mother dearest was put in the hospital for leaving Erik (3) and me (4/5?) alone for a few days.

Next memory we are in a condo in Texas. Not many memories here for the first time around in Dallas. Erik and I ran across Fizthugh Avenue to the grocery store and would steal food. Big, funny, warm jacket on, kind of a like an Eskimo, big pockets, fit food well. We were 5/6? and 4? How did we not get run over on the highway? Remember the top of an apartment building stairs we used to run to to eat the food... will never forget that one time I picked up cheese with jalepenos in it. Yuck. Don't know why we were stealing food. Mary not feeding us? Had to be, what other 5/6 year olds would steal cheese and food? We were in one of the building Denny and family owns in Dallas.

Back to South Carolina somewhere along the way..can't tell the difference between 1-2nd grades, don't really remember... what happened here?

Some summer spent at someone's house that lived in Norfolk. Don't remember but great house, remember a dock out back, a boat and lots of fun and crabbing. However, these are the same dingbats whoo dug for buried treasure... more on that one later.

** Random not in order... escaping a condo in the middle of the night, the neighbors here used to have pinatas in the yard. Some group took us somewhere? Some family's house with 2 or 3 boys? red hair maybe. Did lots of shirt ironing here, and the boys used to jump on top and pretend they were humping. didn't know what it was, then and didn't know it was bad. Clothes were on, but they would go through the motions. 2nd grade??

* a rented house? frequently out of gas, big natural gas/oil tank out front for heating.. frequently empty and cold.. didn't pay the bill? Fans on the floor, horses out back belonging to owners, horse had a foal, lots of blacberry patches, lots of blackberry picking.

* erik locked out of the house for being rowdy, lots of pine sap

* changing schools 3 times? 3rd grade? We go to Columbia? @ somepoint, staying in the house and Evelyn is dying. she is laying in the front of the house on a hospital bed, eyes rolled in the back of her head, whites showing, but she is sleeping. I used to always remember saying I changed school three times during third grade, but now can't remember what those three times were? We we went to Alabama briefly when Evelyn died? Why? Ed, tally and mark there? Another daughter too, Ed's ?? Lots of Duran Duran.

1-4th grades a blur other than 3rd grade year when Evelyn died.

* In condo buildings again somewhere? Denny comes by? Mom drops me at a Little Care center across the street... the ones with the triangle that are all over?? they have grits in the morning.

* She is digging for buried treasure along with the crazy norfolk people and erik. she has some 2-3 page poem?? they are reading over and over trying to discern and digging 6 feet under a sycamore tree (how can I ever forget that part!!) out on the farm.

* I am making arts and crafts with some lady @ a hotel room, they are still digging. Erik is still with us and I think he is out at the farm digging too.


* Marty and Leslie (other kids?) join the horse house... all there, at some point here, don't remember Erik being here much.. is this when Mary puts him in the all the time daycare?

* remember pulling up to a house in a brown car? Erik is there, mom is taking clothes, I don't remember the rest, but remember feeling sad.

* Remember being excited about school, maybe I am going to private school. Lots of supplies, and uniforms and other stuff, and then it's all thrown out in the trash somewhere.

* At a condo again, this time a 3 bedroom, marty is there along with 3 of the girls? Mary and I sleep in one room the others are occupied too. Lot of baby bottle washing. Sometime here, i see Erik for a few minutes, Roger comes, takes Erik, first time I have seen him since I was 2. We go to BigLots, given $20 and I am so excited! Don't remember seeing Roger or Erik after that.

* Nightmare year --- we are in South Carolina (Columbia?) in this small condo. We aren't going to school. We are all being homeschooled via Abbeca Books. Crazy religious stuff. Tried rolling, sneaking, crawling and every other manerism possible to get off the bed and out the bedroom door without waking mary. Otherwise, she would say I couldn't leave my room for the day. Would go to play with the other girls. We made clothes and sewed, and were bored, and did studies, and lots of baby bottles and buttered toast and ramen noodles.

Were told to be quiet when people were knocking on the door, or the "truancy" people would get us.. not sure if it was this, or the apt management because too many people were there, or as Roger later told me... he came back knocking over and over and mary wouldn't answer.

Crazy shit here or later?? david, mary's husband out devil-worshiping/satanism, leg run over... weird shit. We are driving around. This is the year I remember mary and marty and their weird god talking through them stuff. Tackling us to annoint our head with oil to drive the devil out. Also, marty (and maybe mary) going into weird trances and talking as if it was god speaking and not them, lots of talking in tongues and other weird stuff.

* we are living somewhere, I run down to a church and hang out there quite a lot. Church rock band playing, fun stuff for kids.

* lots and lots and lots of vacation bible schools... don't know where

* fifth grade? bob Jones elementary, lot of green and white. lots of catechisms, made fun of for wearing shorts in gym class, the girls were all wearing koulats (sp?)



but wait, more coming later.. there is still the homeless shelter and all that fun stuff! ;)