In the beginning took place forty four years ago in the slums of Newark, New Jersey.  My environment consisted of open lots with mounds of trash, abandoned cars, and mattresses use for trampolines.  On a cold winters day, burning trash and urine filled the air along with the sounds of bums singing the latest Motown hits while passing a bottle of that cheap wine.  I remember having a love for watching television.  My favorite shows were I love Lucy, Jack Lalane, Love American Style and other popular shows of that time.  When I was not watching TV, I would look out the window at the package store across the street.  Fights, shooting, and drug buys were the soap opera of the day and on into the night.

Many say that they have lead interesting lives, but I believe mine is one for the books.   A slice of my life is made up of the some of the events that shaped my character and made me the person I am today.  It is made up of childhood, teenage, and early adult events that shaped my out look towards life and living.

While growing up my father and mother believed in God and that belief carried our family through some hard times as it did many families, but their lack of understanding brought painful circumstances.  They had a problem balancing what they thought was their calling to do missionary work with raising a family in a stable and functioning environment.  We never lived in one place too long.  My mother was a restless soul, so we not only moved frequently, but would just pick up and leave for a visit and end up staying for months.  We missed so many days out of school it caused my brothers and sister and I to be behind in our school lesson.  We developed slow socially and played with eachother while our parents locked us in the house.  Though traveling and missing school was fun, I remember visiting relatives and others and not feeling welcome.  Often we lived like we were homeless and when we did settle, we never attended school on a regular basis.  I think my parents did not want us to get used to regular schooling and friends because it would be harder to just leave at a moments notice.  I had a love for school and some time I would do well.  I remember my third grade teacher at Martin Luther King Public School placing colorful stickers on my school work.  My mother would proudly put them up on the wall next to the kitchen door.  I also painfully recollect missing too many days and having to be retained to the third grade.