Sandy Schlaiss:  

Well the question here is "What about you would surprise everyone at your high school reunion?"Well, have a seat...... Well, I've been to the 10 yr & 20yr reunion & sure surprised alot of people. But still had a way to go. See in school, I was everybodys friend or tried to be. I was not allowed to wear make-up,do my hair in any style that was in. And had to wear "Hush Puppy" shoes becuz they would last 4-ever I had to earn my $ to buy clothes, but at the same time I had to be at my Moms call 24/7 as she had M.S. So I had to do almost everything for her, including getting her from the wheelchair to a chair & then she'd watch TV & then get her back to the wheelchair & to bed. (thats usually when I could work or babysit, between those times) I didn't have much clothes & several girlfriends would lend me sweaters, skirts etc, & I'd change at their house, I could do my make-up & hair there too or at school. If I got caught I was beat pretty bad & things did not go well in the house (my step-father was a real peach) If my friends came over & were in my room & he came home they would hide til they could make a dive for the door. He scare the hell out of them all & then they'd be worried if I was gonna be in serious trouble if he found out. He would pay for the lenses of my glasses, but the frames he made me wear from the very old neighbor lady next door. Some of them were beyond hideous. I had no choice out of that on any school day, as I did need to see. So the guys liked me 'cuz I was always nice, but didn't want to be seen with me & their peers with any of those frames. I didn't want to be seen!! I also was the full time housekeeper (had 2 brothers) & caregiver & God help me if I didn't have it "just right". Some of my friends I stayed with for weeks at a time, at least 4 good, close ones, but would go help my Mom when he wasn't around.(As accidents can happen to a woman in a wheelchair by the back door, or basement stairs...I was told) If I got a phone call from a friend from school (boy or girl) the exchange of maybe 10 words were spoken b4 I would hear "Are ya gonna see 'em at school tomorrow?" Followed by of course me having to hang up. I was never good enough to breathe air or use the front door, as that was for company, & actually got thrown out it so many times for using it, I can't even remember. You might say that my self worth & esteem was always at the bottom. There were times not enough make-up could cover the side of my head where I got it with the HAND WITH THE RING, & have less hearing in that ear. If I got caught with make-up I would have to stay up round the clock & write "I will not wear make-up to school ever again" 5,000 times b4 I could think of having any free time going to a few girlfriends houses 1, 2 or 3 blocks away. I'd run like the wind, becuz if I didn't get home b-4 he did(wherever he was) my brain & body paid for it dearly.And if my body wasn't sore enough I could then write "I will try to act like a human being and learn to tell time" 5,000 times. It seemed like it never ended. There many many times my one brother & I would come home & when we'd go upstairs to our rooms we would find everything in there completely emptied, turned upside down & scattered everywhere, it appeared one of us had something out of order in our rooms, so if we wanted "to live like pigs then we would." He would put newspapers on the floor for us to sleep on & that could last for days or weeks, we never knew. If this was winter, we froze my "petunias"off & if in the summer, the rooms were so small, we'd sweat buckets.I was always afraid people would find out at school & really make fun of me. There was not much left to make me feel good about myself. But I always was a good friend to my friends & made people laugh alot. I did that becuz you didn't hear it much at my home. If my friends wrote me notes in school or at home & then passed them on, he always found them, shaking out all my books my purse etc. If my friends wrote anything to do with sex or talking about guys or their sisters guy friends etc. he would make me stand at the end of the staircase railing & read them out loud to him, over & over again, til my poor Mom started screaming about it & then he'd go out for a couple of hours. (which was great, cause if I didn't work I could watch TV with my Mom)Some nites when he was on the couch, & I had to get my Mom to bed, she'd have me organize this & that by her chair on the table & get her water or whatever so I could watch some TV, & she was stalling for time. One timeI was at my friend, Elaine Travis' house, her Dad put a firecracker or cherry bomb under an orange juice can in the alley, lit it & ran around the side of the garage like hell. Its is suppose to shoot right up like a rocket, but Elaine & I looked at each other, #1 why did her Dad run away instead of watching it go up & #2, I think we shocked he could run that fast. After that Elaine was covered on her whole left side with blood, we got her Dad but we couldn't find anything. Then all of a sudden I was not feeling the greatest in the world, (as it shot up in the air, it shattered & sliced my right arm through the artery & a huge chunk of my skin & meat were missing.) He put a rag & stick around it & her Mom, Elaine & I took off like a shot to the hospital(stones throw away) they got me all ready to numb up the arm & there was a lot of inside damage & then someone asked Elaines Mom t...Expand for more