Childhood - Part 1

I was born in December of 1975, in Sacramento, California.  I grew up in an area known as South Sacramento, in a neighborhood called Kara Track.  This area was located near Florin Rd and Power Inn Rd.  Growing up, South Sacramento was split into too areas, divided by Hwy 99.  On the East side of Hwy 99 in South Sacramento were all your Hispanics, Whites, some Blacks, and some Asians.  On the west side of Hwy 99 was predominately Blacks and some Hispanics.  The significants of this was because of gang activity, which I would not know of or would be ignorant too until I got much older.

The street I grew up on was called Judette Ave.  It was a single family house with 3 bedrooms and bathroom.  My fathers name was Jose, and my mother's name was Barbara.  Me and my eldest sister, Michelle, would share the smallest room together growing up, while my father used the middle size room for his personal interest and both my father and mother would sleep in the master bedroom.  My childhood was a simple one, not much happened. We had several dogs growing up, and at times we had cats, but had to get rid of them due to my eldest sisters allergies.  We had some birds at times, then some fish, but those pets never lasted long.

My mom worked nights as a Janitor.  She owned her own business that she created after cleaning some small buildings and houses for people.  It was by accident that she got into this line of work, but it turned out to be a business that would support the house greatly through my childhood.  My father worked for the California Department of Motor Vehicles.  He started out as an investigator and moved onto other manger positions.  He also was in the California National Guard for some time while I was young.  I'm not sure what he did, but can remember on occasions him taking me and my sister to some of his meetings.  My father did serve active duty for a couple of years before I was born in the United States Airforce.  Him and my mom got married, he went to basic training, and then they were stationed at Wright Patterson Airforce Base.  My sister, Michelle, was born there.

If your familiar with Wright Patterson AFB, the you will be aware that its famous for being the base that held the crash wreckage of possible UFO or Flying Saucers in a hanger, known as Hanger 18.  Just a fun fact I would throw in there.  My father would tell me and my sister stories growing up, that he walked passed the the famous Hanger 18 many time because of the job he did, and that the Hanger was heavily guarded.  He never went inside, but just like most always had suspicion of what was in there.  He would also tell us stories that he had Top Secret clearance because of his job.  He told us that his job consisted of operating audio equipment and would attend private meeting between the base commander and several generals.  In these meeting they would discuss many things, including the storage and sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects.  Whether this true or not, we will never know.  But I would like to think that my father was serious when he spoke of these stories.  He would also tell us stories that another job he had in the military was that of a weapons expert.  He was recruited on many occasions by members of the CIA to go on missions to places unknown.  He never spoke of what this missions or jobs were, but he made comments that he regrets the things he did and had to do.  He would describe coming back from one mission and being awarded with a medal for his deeds under the General he served.  But after it was awarded, he was told to take it off, because the could never make it official due to the secretiveness of the jobs he did.  It was obvious that my father had a guilty conscience of something he did in the past, but again we will never know what he actually did.

I can remember attending preschool at Florin Elementary.  There I met my long friend and neighbor Floyd White Jr.  He was never a smart guy, but of course his family was that of typical white trash, and drugs seemed to dominate through out his life.  But I would not learn what drugs where until I got much much older.  While in preschool, I developed my dislike for tomatoes.  Its a funny stupid reason, but from what I can remember, I was eating lunch and had picked up a grape or cherry tomatoe.  As I took a bite into it, the tomatoe had squirted all over me, and thus my dislike for tomatoes began.  Never again would I eat a tomatoe.

In 1980, I attended St. Peter's Catholic School.  I started Kindergarden here, and met the first girl that I would ever have a crush on.  I'm not sure of her last name, but I can remember that she was asian female, and her name was Sandy or Sandra.  I can remember playing with her practically daily, I had to sit next to her, I had to eat with her, and one day during recess, I had to kiss her.   She was my crush.  She was such a distraction to my learning that the teacher had a meeting with my mother and decided it would be in the best interest that they seperated me from her since I wasn't learning anything.  My whole focus was on that girl.  I look back at my time in Kindergarden, and think how funny it was to be so young and yet feel a crush and still remember it.