My life
I'm going to try to chronicle my life over the last 50 years. This is probably going to be boring but I want to try to capture some of the people and events in my life, this seems to be as good a place as any. Another important note, this is a real life, not some movie thing. There is no one who is completely evil or completely good so you might get something on you if you follow the story.
This will go in installments as I get time.
So, there was this lady named Helen Stubeda living in and around Philadelphia, PA. She was a working girl, something clerical as I remember, and liked to go out dancing on the weekend. Helen was around 27 when she met this dashing young car salesman named Bill Edwards at a dance one night. Bill was from Texas, fresh out of the Marines and could talk the bark off a tree. I don't know much about their courtship or even how long it was but somehow, they ended up married. Bill (henceforth known as Dad) once told me that Helen (henceforth known as Mom) was a virgin when they got married and that he married her because that was the only way he could "get in her pants." Dad liked to drink but more about that later.
So they got married in early September of 1953. It wasn't too long after they were married, maybe 5 or 6 months, that Mom found out she was preggers. Those first few months must have been tough because Mom once told me or my wife, can't remember which, that she was extrememly pissed when she found out she was pregnant because she was planning on leaving Dad. Dad liked to party but more on that later.
So, we have the stage set for the arrival of your truly. Isn't this a happy little situation we find ourselves in. I know what you must be thinking but none of this really ever bothered me. I was always pretty perceptive and able to realize when things weren't really my fault or, for that matter, my problem. Maybe my parents helped me learn that.
A little more on Mom and Dad. Mom was a pretty conservative gal. It doesn't surprise me that she was a virgin when she got married. My Mom had a great sense of humor and was a wonderful mother but she had a few blind spots as we all do. She saw the world in black and white and if you looked in the dictionary under tightass, she would have a full page ad. She was always there for us, always. My dad on the other hand was everyone's best friend. If there was a party, he was there. If he felt like partying, you best get out of his way cause a partying he was going. A doctor one time described him as a compulsive alcoholic. When the compulsion hit, you might not see him for several days. To be fair, as far as I know, he always provided for us. We lived a comfortable middle class life, we always owned our own home, always had two cars and plenty to eat. He took what he saw as his family obligations very seriously and he loved us a great deal. He was just what you might call a free spirit. He made a lot of mistakes, he set a lot of bad examples for me but I can still honestly say he was a good father.
August 27, 1954 saw me, a bouncing 9 lb, 9 oz baby boy enter the world. My Mom and Dad agreed not to name me after a relative (probably because they couldn't agree) but Dad pulled a fast one on her. Dad's stepdad's name was Elmer Bradford. Well, what Mom didn't know till later was that his real named was James Elmer Bradford but he went by Elmer. They named me James.
Naturally, I don't remember much about those years. I used to hear a lot about a "little house in Maple Shade". I'm guessing that is this Maple Shade. My sister, Debra, was born a few years after me. Somewhere along the line, my Dad convinced my mother to move back to Texas. He promised her that they would go there for 6 months and come back if she didn't like it. No one who knows my Dad belives he had the slightest intention of ever returning to PA under any circumstances. When we got back to Texas, my Dad tried his hand a farming for a while but that didn't work out so we moved into town. There begins my first actual personal memories and that is where we end the story for today.
This will go in installments as I get time.
So, there was this lady named Helen Stubeda living in and around Philadelphia, PA. She was a working girl, something clerical as I remember, and liked to go out dancing on the weekend. Helen was around 27 when she met this dashing young car salesman named Bill Edwards at a dance one night. Bill was from Texas, fresh out of the Marines and could talk the bark off a tree. I don't know much about their courtship or even how long it was but somehow, they ended up married. Bill (henceforth known as Dad) once told me that Helen (henceforth known as Mom) was a virgin when they got married and that he married her because that was the only way he could "get in her pants." Dad liked to drink but more about that later.
So they got married in early September of 1953. It wasn't too long after they were married, maybe 5 or 6 months, that Mom found out she was preggers. Those first few months must have been tough because Mom once told me or my wife, can't remember which, that she was extrememly pissed when she found out she was pregnant because she was planning on leaving Dad. Dad liked to party but more on that later.
So, we have the stage set for the arrival of your truly. Isn't this a happy little situation we find ourselves in. I know what you must be thinking but none of this really ever bothered me. I was always pretty perceptive and able to realize when things weren't really my fault or, for that matter, my problem. Maybe my parents helped me learn that.
A little more on Mom and Dad. Mom was a pretty conservative gal. It doesn't surprise me that she was a virgin when she got married. My Mom had a great sense of humor and was a wonderful mother but she had a few blind spots as we all do. She saw the world in black and white and if you looked in the dictionary under tightass, she would have a full page ad. She was always there for us, always. My dad on the other hand was everyone's best friend. If there was a party, he was there. If he felt like partying, you best get out of his way cause a partying he was going. A doctor one time described him as a compulsive alcoholic. When the compulsion hit, you might not see him for several days. To be fair, as far as I know, he always provided for us. We lived a comfortable middle class life, we always owned our own home, always had two cars and plenty to eat. He took what he saw as his family obligations very seriously and he loved us a great deal. He was just what you might call a free spirit. He made a lot of mistakes, he set a lot of bad examples for me but I can still honestly say he was a good father.
August 27, 1954 saw me, a bouncing 9 lb, 9 oz baby boy enter the world. My Mom and Dad agreed not to name me after a relative (probably because they couldn't agree) but Dad pulled a fast one on her. Dad's stepdad's name was Elmer Bradford. Well, what Mom didn't know till later was that his real named was James Elmer Bradford but he went by Elmer. They named me James.
Naturally, I don't remember much about those years. I used to hear a lot about a "little house in Maple Shade". I'm guessing that is this Maple Shade. My sister, Debra, was born a few years after me. Somewhere along the line, my Dad convinced my mother to move back to Texas. He promised her that they would go there for 6 months and come back if she didn't like it. No one who knows my Dad belives he had the slightest intention of ever returning to PA under any circumstances. When we got back to Texas, my Dad tried his hand a farming for a while but that didn't work out so we moved into town. There begins my first actual personal memories and that is where we end the story for today.
posted by Big Ed at 3:47 PM
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