I've been thinking of writing an autobiography or memoir but it just never comes together for me but I figured if I write one story at a time and post it on my blog maybe once a month, I can do that. Maybe one day I'll pull all the stories together and put them in a book but for now I'll just share some stories with you about my childhood. Some of the stories will be happy, some sad and some horrific because that was my childhood. But they will all be real, things that actually happened. If it seems like something that people enjoy reading maybe I'll keep it going. These stories will not be in any kind of order, I'll just write them as they come to me.
Being Questioned By The Police
One of my dad's friends who he worked with was a guy named Mike. He was about 22 years old and my dad told me he was coming for dinner one night. My dad told me to be quiet and on my best behavior. He told my mom to get me dressed in one of my pretty dresses and she also curled my hair and made it look nice even though my mom seemed mad about it. She kept telling my dad that I was only ten years old and Mike was twice my age. But my dad kept saying that there was nothing wrong with introducing us in case he liked me. I thought it was weird and didn’t understand what was going on. I met Mike, we all had dinner and my dad kept trying to push me to talk to Mike more but I wasn’t interested in talking to him and neither was he.
My dad tried to set us up so that Mike would date me when I got a little older because Mike had a good job and was the kind of guy that my dad hoped that I would end up with. Thankfully Mike showed no interest in me. My dad was still working with Mike when I was 15 years old and he tried pushing us together again. Mike was interested at this time but I wasn't, thankfully Mike didn't pursue me.
When I was 10 though, my uncle Jack had come home from being in the Army for many years and had fought in Vietnam. He saw what was going on with my parents and didn’t like my dad because he saw his sister beat up a lot. One day I found myself in an office with two police officers and they were asking me a lot of personal questions about how my dad treated me or if my dad touched me in ways that I didn’t like. For all the awful things that my dad did, he never sexually abused me. But these officers had been told otherwise and they were going to make me go to the hospital for an examination that I was completely confused about until my mom and grandma talked to them. I don’t know exactly what my mom and grandma said to them but I didn’t have to go to do the exam after that. I just remember my mom saying that uncle Jack was a troublemaker. None of it made sense to me until I was older.
Ten years old is way too young for match making. I am glad that neither your father nor your uncle Jack sexually abused you. Very glad.
ReplyDeleteSo am I.
DeleteSo much grossness going on here. I’m sorry that you had to endure all of that.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even understand what was going on when I was 10, it was weird.
DeleteThat was terrible. I can't imagine trying to set up a 10 year old or even 15 year old with someone a decade older. And I can see why the police questioned his other actions based on that, but thankfully that he never sexually abused you.
ReplyDeleteYes, for all the other craziness, at least that never happened.
DeleteIf your uncle Jack was the one who complained to the police, he was looking out for you. I'm glad your father's creepiness didn't extend to sexual abuse. It's tragically common in our culture.
ReplyDeleteYes, he was looking out for me but he was also trying to cause drama.
DeleteI guess your uncle was worried about you...but thankfully, the kind of abuse he suspected wasn't part of the package. Also, thankfully you didn't have to endure that exam...
ReplyDeleteAs for the match-making, that's awful. You ultimately got lucky in that respect, but the very thought of what could have happened...I'm glad you found Ken, though you lost him too soon - it sounds like he made up for all the shit you had to endure in your life.
We had 30 years together and I have a wonderful daughter from our relationship. I treasure our time together.
DeleteThere is a great book on memoir writing by the author Rachael Herron. She also has a strong online presence for writers.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the info.
DeleteYou sure went through some crazy and challenging situations growing up. Glad things didn't go any where with Mike. That would have been too awful.
ReplyDeleteTurns out he was a nice guy just too old for me.
DeleteHow awful for you
ReplyDeleteThankfully nothing came of it.
DeleteOh my. That's a terrible story. Who sets up a 10-year-old? That's gross. I'm glad you were never sexually abused, because that's awful, too. I'm glad your Uncle Jack was looking out for you, but that would have been very invasive when you stated that that wasn't a problem.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I didn't have to do an exam at that age.
DeleteThat sure had to be plenty confusing when you were only 10.
ReplyDeleteI really had no idea what was going on.
DeleteWow. Just wow.
ReplyDeleteI know. My stories are crazy.
DeleteGood Heavens, that wasn't great for you at all. Must have been very confusing to say the least.
ReplyDeleteOh it was.
DeleteNot sure what was going through your dad's head trying to set you up at 10 or even 15! Glad the guy didn't take the bait. Did he think anything good would happen if a guy was interested in a 10 yr old?!! I'm happy that with all the craziness you had to endure your dad didn't molest you on top of everything else.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad about that too. I don't know what he was thinking.
DeleteSo sorry you had to go through this ~
ReplyDeleteWishing you good health, laugther and love in your days,
clm ~ A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Thank you.
Delete*HUGS* You are a strong woman.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteHe tried to set u up when you were ten? Ugh
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't know what he was thinking.
Delete