It was really strange being an only child for 17 years and then having 4 brothers and sisters. They were great kids. Dad lived in a small 2 bedroom house on lake Bld . I slept on the couch in the living room. The only heat it had was a wood stove. I had never been around wood het and had no clue how to start a fire. The rule was first up made the fire , so I would lay on the couch and pretend to be asleep until dad got up and did it. We used pine and he always cautioned me that if you put too much in the pitch would catch the house on fire. So I was scared to mess with it. Dad drove truck and eventually I had to learn how cause he was gone till late.

We got there almost the middle of Oct and no one had signed Mary up for school. She turned 5 in Oct. Before we came along they had babysitters..Mom was not very good with me when I was little but she loved those kids and was a lot better with them. They hardly ever got into trouble but when they did I was the one that had to discipline them and I hated it. Usually siblins fight and get each other into trouble but these kids actually stood up for each other. If someone did something wrong and the others knew who did it no one would tell. Not like the kids now huh?
We were only there till Jan and we went to Huntington Beach to visit my aunt Rita and on the way home25 miles south of Bakersfield a marine was going home to see his new born son and fell asleep at the wheel and hit us. The kids were laying down sleeping in the back of the station wagon and didn't get a scratch. dad was driving and got knocked out of the car and hit his head on the door frame. I woke up under the steering wheel with blood all down the front of my shirt. but it was a tiny cut to my chin. It justed looked bad. Mom had a crushed foot but was out flagging some one down to help. Remember this was before seatbelts and cell-phones. A trucker stopped and called for help. Dad was in a coma for about two weeks and had severe head tramma that took him years to get over. When he came to he didn't know us but eventually got his memory back. He had bad headaches for years after that .

Dad's mom and sisters took the kids to their house in Modesto since dad would be in the hospital for a long while and mom and I got a motel across the street from the hospital. There was a fast food place and we'd eat a bowl of chili everyday. My aunt paid for the motel and sent us money to eat on. This happened four months after my motorcycle wreck in New Orleans. So yes I do believe in Angels and Miracles. More at another time. bye