- Oct 16, 2003
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Hi, my name is Joshua. I know it may sound a little weird, but your name may sound weird as well. I'd like to tell you my story.
How I came about, was actually not planned at all. I was a total surprise to my parents. My mother already having a previous daughter (My sister Patricia), before she married my father, I think had planned on only having two more kids (my sisters Shawn and Erin). Then in the spring of 81 I was conceived, and was born 9 months on December 23rd 1981 in the city of Beaufort, South Carolina. Now like the way most of my life has been, I didn't much make it easy on my parents when I was born either. In fact my umbilical chord got wrapped around my neck, and I actually died for about 2 minutes, but the doctors were able to resuscitate me back to the world of the living. Now don't ask me what heaven looked like, because I don't remember...I was just a newborn. I am getting all of this second hand from my mother. So I guess you could call me a miracle baby. I was born two days before Christmas (well what we celebrate as Christmas) so I got that working for me, having a birthday close to Baby Jesus definitely gets me on the up and up.
Now, again hearsay from my mother, we moved about 6 months later to Portland Oregon. I don't remember much about it, but I do remember the pictures, and it seemed like it was a beautiful city. A year or so later we moved to Idaho (my dad was a Marine), and I remember this time because I was about 3-4 and I had the blondest of hair, but that was because I was outside a lot too. I also got my first puppy, a yellow Labrador Retriever, named Sunlight. She was a good dog. She ended up making 5 different moves with us actually. From Idaho to North Carolina, which was our next stop a long the way in my life. So let's recap real quick. I am now 4, lived in 4 different states and probably have seen many many more along the way. North Carolina are some fond memories and some not so fond memories.
Not so fond memories, as soon as we got the North Carolina, about 6 months later, my dad is sent overseas for a year and a half. Now, this was a tough time for the family. Mom was a stay at home for the most part, but she had to take up a job, to keep the bills paid and many other problems that would arise. It was a long year and half w/out my father in my life. Now during this time, my pup Sunlight had pups...and they were all mutts...but they were the cutest mutts ever...except for Bubba...Bubba was so ugly he was cute...it was pathetic, but my mom thought it best to make sure the pups went to good homes, and Bubba, he went to the Military Police to become a drug sniffing dog. We kept tabs on him as much as we could, and when we left North Carolina in the Summer of 89, he had graduated from the academy with honors and was on his way overseas. I am pretty sure hes' passed on by now, considering he'd be close to 25 years old, but I do hope he had a good life. I still remember playing with him and Sunlight.
Now we get back on the road, with a short stop in Memphis, Tennessee for the summer of 89. While my mom and dad got the house packed up and ready for military inspection, we got the spend sometime with our grandparents here in the south during the summer of 89. Now we never got to see them much, because of all our moves. Now I love my grandparents. What kid doesn't really? They are so loving and supportive of any decision you make. Especially mine. You could tell their love for their grandbabies (as they would call us).
Now my maternal grandparents (who I know they best) were divorced, so I was blessed with two sets of grandparents on my moms side. My Papaw and Mamaw Sue, and my Mamaw Deloris (and a number of her husbands, I think she stopped at Jim, or I don't like as much...he's a Alabama fan...he kind of chaps my hide a bit, but I tolerate him because I love my Mamaw.) My Papaw was an Elder in the church as was my Mamaw Sue. You could tell they loved each other. This is probably where I get my compassion from actually.
Then we move on to California in August, get settled in and I start the second grade (went through Kindergarten and 1st in North Carolina). this is where I begin to play sports as well. I played soccer and I got to dabble in a little American Football, but I wouldn't get to play American Football for another 4-5 years after my first season in California. We also got our second Labrador Retriever, this time a black one...named of course...Midnight...Now I made a lot of good friends and I loved my school, but my dad was retiring from the Marine Corps and my family was moving back to the South to ol' Memphis, Tennessee. Now I'll be honest with you...I didn't like this one bit (I wanted to stay with all of my friends in California). I had just started making friends and I was enjoying being "Californian" at least in the Mojave desert...but alas, my last day at school as the last day of the semester, we'd be moving after the New Years. As we were walking in our line with our 4's up (letting folks know we were the 4th graders) my teacher usually handed out candy, and as I walked past she handed it to me and gave me a big ol hug (this was before Political correctness ruined school). I can't remember her name, but I would remember if I saw her or saw her name. She made that kind of impact on me.
Well moving day was here and it was cold in the desert...about 22 degrees as we packed up the van and the truck and hit the road. It would be about 3-4 days before we got to Memphis, so of course, as my mom would usually do...she planned a little vacation out for us. Now we got to see the Grand Canyon, and Carls Bad Caverns...but I was missing my friends in California. It was a Friday when we got into Memphis. We stayed with grandmother until we closed on a house (about a week)...and we ended up renting anyways for a year and a half, while we built a house. The school I was going too was a far cry from the school I just came from. The school I just came from was new and state of the art and modern...the school I was forced to go too...was about 80 years old and was pretty cruddy. Teachers weren't really there to teach either I noticed. So of course going from a A's and B's my grades slipped to C's and D's...
The hardest thing about moving is starting over...well I still wasn't done moving. Once I got into the 6th grade, our house was finished (after many, many, many delays), and we moved into our new house in later September of 94...blah...which means, a new school, and would have to make friends...again.
Now when you're a military family, it's not hard to make friends, especially on a military base, because of all the similarities you have with other kids. With these kids at this new school...Highland Oaks...I had no similarities...family wasn't "rich" and "well-off"....so as you would know, it was hard for me to find and make friends. This actually continued on past middle school.
In high school, I went to Kirby High School in Memphis, and I started playing football again, it was easy making friends with the guys on the team because again there were similarities. I didn't play much my freshmen year, since I was new, and I didn't know the offensive or defensive playbook that well, but in my soph, jr, I gained more playing time, and in my senior year I started.
I was called to my church's priesthood in 98 (my junior year). While all of this I was also a Explorer with the Sheriff's office here (Google Explorer program if you want to know what it is)...and I was still a A-B student (with a C sprinkled in...I had to show people I was human after all. Well during this time my parents had divorced, and I started drinking as well. Now most people didn't know or realize this, although a few people caught on, and they literally saved my life.
My mom had gotten me from school early one day and let me know she was going in for an operation...I asked her what was wrong and she said she may have cancer in the Ovaries and she would have to a hysterectomy as well...well the cancer scare was enough to put me over the edge...my dad was know where to be found, and my told middle sisters decided that leaving my mom in her time of need was what they should do, so that left me...I was scared to death. I was too young for all of this pressure and I had put a bullet in the chamber and considered taking my life. Well I got a phone call from my youth director and my best friends David and Jake and they literally saved my life. I have only told David and Jake this, but never my youth director at the time, and I really don't know why I am telling you guys a bunch of strangers, but oh well.
I finished high school with a 3.2 GPA, scored a 27 on my ACT and I was heading for college. I was on my own...my mom was back to being 100% healthy again and I was thankful for that. So she dropped me off at college in Lamoni, Iowa at Graceland University with the rest of the athletes (a few weeks before the rest of the students came) and I was playing football and having a good time. My freshmen was mybest year at Graceland. I loved it. Made new friends, had a girlfriend life was grand....then I came home for the summer in 01...and I got the grim news of my Mamaw Sue being really ill. Now I knew she was ill from 98 and on, but she was given the prognosis of about 6-8 months...this was in June of 01...well the months went a long and Mamaw was in and out of the hospital, in August, she was in there, and this time for the long haul. I got to see her one last time before I headed back to school. Now I called my mom on Sept 5th (her birthday) so I could wish her a happy birthday...and she said that Mamaw Sue was going to get to go home (she had stopped their after she got off of work, to check in on her and Papaw (Papaw had never left her side). Well on September 7th...after I got back from practice, I had an IM waiting for me from my friend Stephanie (life long friend from church)...and she gave me the bad news...my grandmother had passed away...she of course thought I knew, but I didn't, I hadn't gotten to talk to my mom yet. So I frantically called my mom at work...went to voicemail, called my mom at home, voicemail. Called her cellphone...voicemail. I knew this was bad. So I decided, welp time to call the hospital. So I called it and I had to go through three different calling trees, and I got her room my aunt Sharon answered, I asked to talk to my mom Sheila, she asked if this was Josh I said yes, and I asked my mom is it true...and she started crying and I started crying and I knew I had to get a flight home.
Now after the funeral (which was on Sept 11th 2001 (yes one and the same)...and all of that I flew back (yes I know)...on that Saturday, and I struggled for the rest of the year, and even in the spring, and even in my last semester at school in the fall of 02. I came back home, and planned on working, but I had no motivation. I didn't work for a whole year I think. I finally got a job though, and then I started working for my brother doing counter top installs during the summer, and then I got a job as a 1st Responder at a retirement village. It was a good paying job, but I worked nights (kind of like now)...and then they "downsized" my position and i lost my job. Well I was unemployed for 6 months, but then I got a job at Best Buy. I worked at Best Buy for close to 5 years, and then I left there and came to Luxottica.
I just recently lost my grandfather. The man saved my faith and soul, which again in turned saved my life more times then I can count. Even when I knew I was in deep trouble, I knew he was too stubborn to quit on me, so that stubbornness was instilled into me. So I when I see the "whoa is me" threads I just want to smack the people and let them know, there are people give a d*** about you, and quick thinking otherwise.
My life hasn't turned out how I wanted it to be. I had aspirations to be a US Marshall, and I know I can still become one. Just going to be a little harder then before. I don't know why i decided to share with you a snippet of my life story. I thought it would help you all understand who I was better.
I am a person who is blunt and I will let you know what i really think of you. I hate people who are shallow and self centered. Especially supposedly "Christians". All of my life I had to put others before myself...that's probably I am so good at the jobs I have held. I put others before me. I've always been that way...again I think it goes back to the compassion that I was taught by my grandparents. Without them I don't think I would be the man I am today. I would probably be a long lost soul wondering around somewhere.
Well anyways, I think I wrote enough. It's only like 8-9 paragraphs. (oh and this was post 1600 for me
)
So...what's your story?
How I came about, was actually not planned at all. I was a total surprise to my parents. My mother already having a previous daughter (My sister Patricia), before she married my father, I think had planned on only having two more kids (my sisters Shawn and Erin). Then in the spring of 81 I was conceived, and was born 9 months on December 23rd 1981 in the city of Beaufort, South Carolina. Now like the way most of my life has been, I didn't much make it easy on my parents when I was born either. In fact my umbilical chord got wrapped around my neck, and I actually died for about 2 minutes, but the doctors were able to resuscitate me back to the world of the living. Now don't ask me what heaven looked like, because I don't remember...I was just a newborn. I am getting all of this second hand from my mother. So I guess you could call me a miracle baby. I was born two days before Christmas (well what we celebrate as Christmas) so I got that working for me, having a birthday close to Baby Jesus definitely gets me on the up and up.
Now, again hearsay from my mother, we moved about 6 months later to Portland Oregon. I don't remember much about it, but I do remember the pictures, and it seemed like it was a beautiful city. A year or so later we moved to Idaho (my dad was a Marine), and I remember this time because I was about 3-4 and I had the blondest of hair, but that was because I was outside a lot too. I also got my first puppy, a yellow Labrador Retriever, named Sunlight. She was a good dog. She ended up making 5 different moves with us actually. From Idaho to North Carolina, which was our next stop a long the way in my life. So let's recap real quick. I am now 4, lived in 4 different states and probably have seen many many more along the way. North Carolina are some fond memories and some not so fond memories.
Not so fond memories, as soon as we got the North Carolina, about 6 months later, my dad is sent overseas for a year and a half. Now, this was a tough time for the family. Mom was a stay at home for the most part, but she had to take up a job, to keep the bills paid and many other problems that would arise. It was a long year and half w/out my father in my life. Now during this time, my pup Sunlight had pups...and they were all mutts...but they were the cutest mutts ever...except for Bubba...Bubba was so ugly he was cute...it was pathetic, but my mom thought it best to make sure the pups went to good homes, and Bubba, he went to the Military Police to become a drug sniffing dog. We kept tabs on him as much as we could, and when we left North Carolina in the Summer of 89, he had graduated from the academy with honors and was on his way overseas. I am pretty sure hes' passed on by now, considering he'd be close to 25 years old, but I do hope he had a good life. I still remember playing with him and Sunlight.
Now we get back on the road, with a short stop in Memphis, Tennessee for the summer of 89. While my mom and dad got the house packed up and ready for military inspection, we got the spend sometime with our grandparents here in the south during the summer of 89. Now we never got to see them much, because of all our moves. Now I love my grandparents. What kid doesn't really? They are so loving and supportive of any decision you make. Especially mine. You could tell their love for their grandbabies (as they would call us).
Now my maternal grandparents (who I know they best) were divorced, so I was blessed with two sets of grandparents on my moms side. My Papaw and Mamaw Sue, and my Mamaw Deloris (and a number of her husbands, I think she stopped at Jim, or I don't like as much...he's a Alabama fan...he kind of chaps my hide a bit, but I tolerate him because I love my Mamaw.) My Papaw was an Elder in the church as was my Mamaw Sue. You could tell they loved each other. This is probably where I get my compassion from actually.
Then we move on to California in August, get settled in and I start the second grade (went through Kindergarten and 1st in North Carolina). this is where I begin to play sports as well. I played soccer and I got to dabble in a little American Football, but I wouldn't get to play American Football for another 4-5 years after my first season in California. We also got our second Labrador Retriever, this time a black one...named of course...Midnight...Now I made a lot of good friends and I loved my school, but my dad was retiring from the Marine Corps and my family was moving back to the South to ol' Memphis, Tennessee. Now I'll be honest with you...I didn't like this one bit (I wanted to stay with all of my friends in California). I had just started making friends and I was enjoying being "Californian" at least in the Mojave desert...but alas, my last day at school as the last day of the semester, we'd be moving after the New Years. As we were walking in our line with our 4's up (letting folks know we were the 4th graders) my teacher usually handed out candy, and as I walked past she handed it to me and gave me a big ol hug (this was before Political correctness ruined school). I can't remember her name, but I would remember if I saw her or saw her name. She made that kind of impact on me.
Well moving day was here and it was cold in the desert...about 22 degrees as we packed up the van and the truck and hit the road. It would be about 3-4 days before we got to Memphis, so of course, as my mom would usually do...she planned a little vacation out for us. Now we got to see the Grand Canyon, and Carls Bad Caverns...but I was missing my friends in California. It was a Friday when we got into Memphis. We stayed with grandmother until we closed on a house (about a week)...and we ended up renting anyways for a year and a half, while we built a house. The school I was going too was a far cry from the school I just came from. The school I just came from was new and state of the art and modern...the school I was forced to go too...was about 80 years old and was pretty cruddy. Teachers weren't really there to teach either I noticed. So of course going from a A's and B's my grades slipped to C's and D's...
The hardest thing about moving is starting over...well I still wasn't done moving. Once I got into the 6th grade, our house was finished (after many, many, many delays), and we moved into our new house in later September of 94...blah...which means, a new school, and would have to make friends...again.
Now when you're a military family, it's not hard to make friends, especially on a military base, because of all the similarities you have with other kids. With these kids at this new school...Highland Oaks...I had no similarities...family wasn't "rich" and "well-off"....so as you would know, it was hard for me to find and make friends. This actually continued on past middle school.
In high school, I went to Kirby High School in Memphis, and I started playing football again, it was easy making friends with the guys on the team because again there were similarities. I didn't play much my freshmen year, since I was new, and I didn't know the offensive or defensive playbook that well, but in my soph, jr, I gained more playing time, and in my senior year I started.
I was called to my church's priesthood in 98 (my junior year). While all of this I was also a Explorer with the Sheriff's office here (Google Explorer program if you want to know what it is)...and I was still a A-B student (with a C sprinkled in...I had to show people I was human after all. Well during this time my parents had divorced, and I started drinking as well. Now most people didn't know or realize this, although a few people caught on, and they literally saved my life.
My mom had gotten me from school early one day and let me know she was going in for an operation...I asked her what was wrong and she said she may have cancer in the Ovaries and she would have to a hysterectomy as well...well the cancer scare was enough to put me over the edge...my dad was know where to be found, and my told middle sisters decided that leaving my mom in her time of need was what they should do, so that left me...I was scared to death. I was too young for all of this pressure and I had put a bullet in the chamber and considered taking my life. Well I got a phone call from my youth director and my best friends David and Jake and they literally saved my life. I have only told David and Jake this, but never my youth director at the time, and I really don't know why I am telling you guys a bunch of strangers, but oh well.
I finished high school with a 3.2 GPA, scored a 27 on my ACT and I was heading for college. I was on my own...my mom was back to being 100% healthy again and I was thankful for that. So she dropped me off at college in Lamoni, Iowa at Graceland University with the rest of the athletes (a few weeks before the rest of the students came) and I was playing football and having a good time. My freshmen was mybest year at Graceland. I loved it. Made new friends, had a girlfriend life was grand....then I came home for the summer in 01...and I got the grim news of my Mamaw Sue being really ill. Now I knew she was ill from 98 and on, but she was given the prognosis of about 6-8 months...this was in June of 01...well the months went a long and Mamaw was in and out of the hospital, in August, she was in there, and this time for the long haul. I got to see her one last time before I headed back to school. Now I called my mom on Sept 5th (her birthday) so I could wish her a happy birthday...and she said that Mamaw Sue was going to get to go home (she had stopped their after she got off of work, to check in on her and Papaw (Papaw had never left her side). Well on September 7th...after I got back from practice, I had an IM waiting for me from my friend Stephanie (life long friend from church)...and she gave me the bad news...my grandmother had passed away...she of course thought I knew, but I didn't, I hadn't gotten to talk to my mom yet. So I frantically called my mom at work...went to voicemail, called my mom at home, voicemail. Called her cellphone...voicemail. I knew this was bad. So I decided, welp time to call the hospital. So I called it and I had to go through three different calling trees, and I got her room my aunt Sharon answered, I asked to talk to my mom Sheila, she asked if this was Josh I said yes, and I asked my mom is it true...and she started crying and I started crying and I knew I had to get a flight home.
Now after the funeral (which was on Sept 11th 2001 (yes one and the same)...and all of that I flew back (yes I know)...on that Saturday, and I struggled for the rest of the year, and even in the spring, and even in my last semester at school in the fall of 02. I came back home, and planned on working, but I had no motivation. I didn't work for a whole year I think. I finally got a job though, and then I started working for my brother doing counter top installs during the summer, and then I got a job as a 1st Responder at a retirement village. It was a good paying job, but I worked nights (kind of like now)...and then they "downsized" my position and i lost my job. Well I was unemployed for 6 months, but then I got a job at Best Buy. I worked at Best Buy for close to 5 years, and then I left there and came to Luxottica.
I just recently lost my grandfather. The man saved my faith and soul, which again in turned saved my life more times then I can count. Even when I knew I was in deep trouble, I knew he was too stubborn to quit on me, so that stubbornness was instilled into me. So I when I see the "whoa is me" threads I just want to smack the people and let them know, there are people give a d*** about you, and quick thinking otherwise.
My life hasn't turned out how I wanted it to be. I had aspirations to be a US Marshall, and I know I can still become one. Just going to be a little harder then before. I don't know why i decided to share with you a snippet of my life story. I thought it would help you all understand who I was better.
I am a person who is blunt and I will let you know what i really think of you. I hate people who are shallow and self centered. Especially supposedly "Christians". All of my life I had to put others before myself...that's probably I am so good at the jobs I have held. I put others before me. I've always been that way...again I think it goes back to the compassion that I was taught by my grandparents. Without them I don't think I would be the man I am today. I would probably be a long lost soul wondering around somewhere.
Well anyways, I think I wrote enough. It's only like 8-9 paragraphs. (oh and this was post 1600 for me
)So...what's your story?
