Bruce Van Dame:
CLASS OF 1985
Jacksonville High SchoolClass of 1985
Jacksonville, AR
Bruce's Story
Mi Vida Loca...
Hmm... where to start.
Ok. Well I suppose there's only one way to do this; just start at high school & touch on the highlights. Some may be a bit more than just highlights, but if I leave you puzzled about something, just ask.
Well as any of you that may remember me might know, I was & wasn't a loner in school. I tried to be socialable with just about everyone, but didn't really cling to any particular crowd. So for anyone that may have thought otherwise, let me humbly apologize right away if I seemed standoffish.
The single greatest regret I have from my high school life was letting Sandra Sanders slip away from me. I'm sorry for being the immature fool a young teenaged boy has a tendency to be. But yes, Sandra, you still have a piece of my heart to this day. I think about you often. :):)
I left JHS about mid-year through the 11th grade & joined the Army Reserves in Feb. of '84. I completed boot camp & AIT in June '84 at Ft. Leonardwood, Mo. I came back home, & for reasons I'll tell you more about if you ask, I decided to join the Marine Corps for full active duty in Sept of the same year ('84). I completed USMC boot camp in San Diego, Ca. on Dec 7th, '84 (Pearl Harbor day). So yes, it was quite a busy year for me! I went to 29 Palms, Ca., for communications school & in Mar of '85 I transferred to my permanent duty station at Camp Pendleton, Ca. While I was in I did manage to finish High School through a program there at Camp Pendleton & received my diploma from JHS late in '85.
I got in a little trouble (nothing really bad) while I was in, but it was enough to end my military career abruptly in April of '87. I don't believe any one decision in your life is a defining moment for who you are today. Life has a funny way of "sculpting" us. Anyhow, I'm not bitter about it, but I will say I do miss the Marine Corps. I loved it & still do to this day. If I could do it over again, you bet I'd make much better decisions. I can't change it, so I just call it a young person's (my) misguided error in judgement & a valuable life lesson.
Unfortunately, that would not be the last of them.
I worked a few different jobs here and there... trying to find my niche, I guess. I got married to my first wife (Nina Stevens) Feb 18th of '89 (not a wise decision for either of us). Hopefully we both just look at it as another long series of hard life lessons. Know that just because we sucked at being husband & wife, we've found 14 years after we split in '95, that we're much better as friends. We're still testing the waters on that one, but it seems to be going pretty good so far. I think it was very fortunate, for both of us, that we didn't have any children together. I wouldn't want them to have to go through that.
On to my next stretch in life...
I went to NY to spend some time with my family. Yes. I'm originally from NY, for those of you that didn't know, but I grew up in Arkansas. After my father passed away in early '97, I learned quickly that I was not a "New Yorker". Arkansas was & still is where I call "home".
I came back to Jacksonville & worked at Conestoga Wood for a short time & then drove truck for Harold Ives Trucking (now out of business). This is how I met my current wife of 8 years (Lisa) in July of '98. We were both layed over in Stoney Ridge, Oh. for the July 4th weekend, with loads that couldn't be delivered until the following Monday in Chicago.
Two weeks later I turned in my truck, packed my things up & I was on my way to Sioux Falls, SD, where I've been since. Ok. Well I drove to Chicago to meet her on her way home & we (her in her truck & I in my car) drove from Chicago to Sioux Falls.
I worked for a very brief time at a custom cabinet shop until my allergies kept me from continuing that particular love of mine. This is, by the way, why I didn't stay at Conestoga Wood. My allergies couldn't handle the amount of sawdust in any type...Expand for more
of wood manufacturing business. I still love woodwork to this day. But I digress...
I worked through a temp service for a month or so until I walked in one day to get another assignment & was told about the opportunity that would end my job search to date. I've been working in the computer services department at the home office of a large insurance company now for 10 years this past Nov (2008).
Now let's go back & fill in a bit after I moved here...
Nina & I, although separated in '95, stayed married on paper until sometime around Jan. of '99 when I filed papers for divorce so Lisa & I could move on to the next obvious stage in our lives together. The same was apparently so for Nina & her significant other at the time. So bonus all the way around!
Lisa & I were married April 15th, 2000. Yes! Tax Day! She chose the date, not me. :) I still say she was trying to make sure to choose a date I couldn't forget & keep it easy for me to remember the number of years we've been married. After all, drop the "20" from the year & there you have it. Pretty simple! We both laugh about it because she swears there was no significance. ;) The next few years are the typical first five years of what most people would call that "nausiating newlywed sickness" & the "breaking each other in" that follows.
Summer of 2005: Lisa had been talking to her sister (a respiratory therapist at the local hospital) on the phone & describing how she had been feeling extremely sick in "the morning". Her sister told her, "I'll bet you're pregnant!".
Now, let's back a moment up to a week proir when we had a father's day cookout at our home for all the dads in the family. Lisa's grandmother makes mention of it being "our turn" to give her a great-grandchild. A week later, we're sitting out on our front porch talking & residing ourselves to the idea that we probably won't have any children.
Ok. Now we move forward about three weeks to July 4th of 2005. Take note of how this seems to be a recurring date for things in my life. LOL Anyway, Lisa & I were supposed to go to her parents house where I had volunteered to help reshingle their house. Two nights before we decide, "What the heck! Let's buy a pregnancy test!". Lisa gets up the next morning, takes the test & it didn't waste any time. Hardly any waiting, not even 10 seconds... BLUE LINE!! Ok. We decide to not get our hopes up. Mind you, this was what we've both wanted our whole lives.
We get up the next morning to head to her parents for the big reshingle project & she takes the second test that came in the pack with her. We get to her parents & I go straight up to the roof to get started.
I get a call on my cell phone after about 30 minutes from my wife who's in the house by herself. Keep in mind she has that other pregnancy test that she's just chomping at the bit to use. Her mother has gone to the store to buy stuff for lunch.
Anyway, I answer the phone & Lisa says to me, in a voice that is nervous, but soft, "Honey, I need you to come down here now." I ask her if she's okay. She says, "You need to be off the roof for what I'm about to tell you." I didn't need to hear another word. I think the parts of the quiet neighborhood my in-laws live in that weren't awake, were at that point. I threw my hands in the air & just screamed at the top of my lungs "WAAAHHHH HOOOO!!! I'M A DADDY!!".
To this day, I tell my wife, that is the single, most beautiful & wonderful gift anyone could have ever given me for my birthday, which is July 7th.
Our son, Gabriel Lee, was born, Feb 1st, 2006. He's 3 now & along with his mother, they are my world!!
And mind you, waiting this long to have a child was never my intention. I've wanted kids since I was one myself. I can't remember a time when I didn't. I just think God was preparing me to be the best dad I could be.
So there you have it. My life since high school, in as short a version as I can give it.
Register for Free to view all details!
Yearbooks
Reunions
Photos
