David Johnson:  

Who am I really? My Story (my version). It seems I've always done it the hard way and often wonder why I couldn't have just been "satisfied." I was born with a insatiable appetite and curiosity that won't allow me to just "live life and be happy." My older brother and younger sister have. My friends are. What's up with this boy? As I reflect back, I have to say it was probably in my genes. I came along in 1957, as the second child of three, and would describe our family as poor to middle class, with hard working and very conservative parents. I don't recall ever going hungry and it seemed we always had a place to live and clothes to wear. In latter teenage years I even had my own car to drive. Really, in all we had a good family life. My parents weren't perfect but they really did try. They were always good to us kids and gave when they couldn't afford it. My mother wasn't fully educated, dropping out of school to marry my father (three years older than she), who was barely old enough to consider such a proposition. She has now passed and I am thankful I was able to reconnect with her over the last years of her life. My father, who is still alive and well, was pretty much self educated too. He was born to an Arkansas bootlegger, who died when my dad was just eight. Then his older sister (there were 13 of them), a "Rosy the Riveter," who worked in California during the war effort, moved my dad and his mother from Arkansas, where dad learned how to fix cars, eventually becoming a first class mechanic. Some might remember A&B Garage in Rodeo, where my dad worked. I even did a short stint there once myself. You could always count on him. I think he fixed every vagrant and missionary's car that came through town, often on his own time and nearly always for free. Dad is still going strong and I hope we have him for many more years. Admittedly, he and I never got along very well but what little maturity I eventually gained caused me to realize what a jewel my father is. I did ok in school academically but didn't participate in many formal school activities, (sports, dances) due to the teachings of a very strict church we attended my entire childhood life. As a child, I kept much to myself, choosing my friends carefully, never feeling like I really needed anyone to keep me company. Then along came the girls and I have to confess at 13 I was completely infatuated. Between them and the raging hormones, my teenage life was a blur of confusion and discovery. Amazingly, I made it through the secret parties and liaisons, both of which made me officially "hell bound," pretty much a virgin. Then their was the fall of 1974 and my return from Marine Corp training. An old "sometimes" girlfriend and I reconnected briefly and this boy became a man (trying to keep a G rating here). My high school days were mixed up. First the church we attended decided to start th...Expand for more