THE HOUSE I GREW UP IN - VIRTUAL TOUR

GERARD CHRISTIAN ZACHER: OFFICIAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY SITE

THE HOUSE I GREW UP IN - VIRTUAL TOUR

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THIS IS 1810 LAUREL DRIVE, MOUNT PROSPECT, ILLINOIS. (MOUNT PROSPECT IS A SMALL NORHWEST SUBURB OF CHICAGO - ABOUT AN HOUR'S DRIVE AWAY FROM DOWNTOWN)

MY ADOPTIVE PARENTS HAD THIS HOUSE BUILT AND WE MOVED IN HERE WHEN IT WAS COMPLETED WHEN I WAS LESS THAN 6 MONTHS OLD.

I GREW UP HERE WITH MOM, DAD, MY KID SISTER, JEANNIE, AND OUR VARIOUS PETS - ESPECIALLY DUTCHESS - THE NOBLE, MATERNAL POINTER WHO GUARDED ME LIKE A SECOND MOTHER TILL I WAS IN 2nd GRADE AND MY MINIATURE SCHNAUZER BENJI WHOM I RAISED FROM A SIX WEEK OLD PUPPY TO A 14 YEAR-OLD DOG.( HE REMAINED VERY MUCH A PUPPY ALL THE WAY THROUGH). I CAN'T FORGET OUR TWO RABBITS IN BETWEEN THE DOGS, THOUGH - HOPSY AND GINGER, NOR MY TWO BIRDS DONNY THE PARAKEET AND McGEE THE CANARY. THEN THERE WERE THE FISH (WE ALWAYS HAD FISH) AND THE TADPOLE TURNED FROG, KERMIT.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD GREW UP WITH ME. WHEN WE FIRST MOVED IN, THE LAND WAS JUST STARTING TO BECOME POPULATED. I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE SURROUNDED BY OTHER KIDS AROUND MY AGE. THERE WERE MY NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBORS, YVONNE AND VANESSA. YVONNE WAS ONE MONTH YOUNGER THAN ME. VANESSA WAS NEAR TWO YEARS YOUNGER. I WAS FRIENDS WITH YVONNE, BUT IT WAS WITH VANESSA - ALONG WITH MY SISTER, JEANNIE - THAT I HAD MOST OF MY WILD, LITERAL ADVENTURES WITH - SNEAKING IN AND OUT THROUGH BEDROOM WINDOWS, SPENDING MUCH OF OUR CHILDHOOD IN FOREST PRESERVES, CREEKS, RIVERS, AND IN TREES AND ON ROOFTOPS! THEN THERE WAS MICHELE, WHO WAS TWO WEEKS YOUNGER THAN ME AND WHO I MET WHEN WE WERE SIX MONTHS OLD. SHE LIVED (AND STILL DOES) ONE HOUSE AWAY ON THE CORNER OF BOTH OUR STREETS - LAUREL DRIVE AND AZTEC LANE. MICHELE AND I HAD A STRONG, NEAR BROTHER-SISTER BOND. DURING SUMMER VACATIONS, WE WOULD SIT ON MY FRONT PORCH LISTENING TO PORTABLE RADIOS AND I WOULD SHOW OFF ON MY SKATEBOARD FOR HER. HER MOM, MRS.P.< WAS LIKE A SECOND MOTHER TO ME. THERE WERE OTHER KIDS WE PLAYED WITH OF COURSE, BUT THESE WERE MY MAIN BEST FRIENDS AND THEY STILL ARE TODAY.

MY MOTHER SADLY DIED OF CANCER. I WAS 21. (TO MAKE MATTERS EVEN WORSE, BENJI MYSTERIOUSLY DIED JUST 2 WEEKS AFTER HER) A YEARLATER, MY DAD SOLD THE HOUSE A YEAR LATER- MUCH TO MY SISTER'S AND MY PROTEST. BUT DAD JUST COULD NOT HANDLE THE LOSS OF MY MOTHER AND THE MEMORIES IN THE HOUSE WERE UNBEARABLE TO HIM. IN OCTOBER, THE MONTH OF MY BIRTHDAY, THE NEW OWNERS TOOK OVER AND WE HAD TO MOVE OUT. JEANNIE AND I NEVER, EVER, EVER WANTED THE HOUSE TO LEAVE OUR FAMILY, AND WE ARE STILL UPSET OVER THAT TO THIS DAY, BUT WE HAD NO CONTROL OVER THE SITUATION AT THE TIME, UNFORTUNATELY. WHENEVER I WOULD VISIT MICHELE AND YVONNE AND VANESSA, I'D HAVE TO SEE THE PAINFUL SIGHT OF MY OLD HOUSE, AND IT HURTS TO NOT BE ABLE TO JUST PULL IN THE DRIVEWAY AND GO INSIDE TO MY BEDROOM AND KICK BACK.

I HAVE LIVED IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA NOW FOR ALMOST 9 YEARS AND FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO VISIT CHICAGO SINCE I MOVED OUT HERE ALL THOSE YEARS AGO. FINALLY, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A LONG-OVERDUE VISIT!! (APRIL, 2007) THIS TIME I RETURNED HOME AN ACCOMPLISHED UP-AND-COMING ACTOR STARRING IN THREE INDEPENDENT FILMS DUE OUT LATER THIS YEAR., AND HAVING APPEARED ON TELEVISION A HANDFUL OF TIMES.

WHEN I VISITED MICHELE AND VANESSA, THIS TIME, I HAD TO TAKE PHOTOS OF MY OLD HOUSE AND NEIGHBORHOOD. I FELT BOLD ENOUGH TO RING THE DOORBELL OF GOOD OLD 1810 AND ASK THE OWNERS IF I COULD TAKE PHOTOS OUTSIDE MY OLD HOUSE. THEY DID MORE THAN OKAY THAT - THEY INVITED ME IN AND HELPED ME TAKE PHOTOS ALL OVER THE INSIDE OF THE HOUSE, TOO! I WAS SURPRISED TO FIND THEM SO NICE AND FRIENDLY!

SO, HERE ARE THOSE PHOTOS. THEY HAVE, OF COURSE, THOROUGHLY REMODELED THE PLACE! IF I HADN'T KNOWN THE HOUSE LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND, I ALMOST WOULDN'T HAVE RECOGNIZED IT!! WHEN WE HAD TO MOVE OUT, THE HOUSE WAS STILL VERY SIMPLE, AND WE WERE JUST THEN FINALLY STARTED TO BRING THE HOUSE OUT OF THE 70'S - EVEN THOUGH IT WAS BY THEN THE EARLY 1990'S!!

READY TO EXPLORE WITH ME? HERE WE GO!

This Is The Exterior Of The Front Window / Front Of The House. The Shots I Took Of The Entire Front Did Not Comer Out So I Am Waiting On New Ones My Friends Are Taking. Again, All My Old Photos Of Childhood Were Water-Damaged During A Small Fire That Set Off The Sprinkler System Where My Things Were Stored Long Ago, And I Am Trying Hard To Replace Them With Copies Of Photos That Family & Friends Have, But That Is Taking Some Time. So Someday Hopefully Soon, I'll Be Able To Show You What The House Looked Like Long Ago When I Actually LIVED In It. But For Now, At Least I Can Show You What It Looks Like Now. I'll Try To Describe How Everything Used To Look For You As Best I Can So You Can Visualize It With Me.

This Is The Front Porch. Fortunately, It Looks Basically The Same. There Were More Bushes Along The Side Here, There Was No Chair There (Though I Would BRing Chairs Out For My Friends - Especially Michele - During Summer Vacation Where We Would Listen To Portable Radio Pop / Rock Music Stations & Crack Each Other Up), And There Was No BEAR! LOL. See The Railing? I Used To Climb That To The Rooftop Along With My Sister, Jeannie, And Our Next-Door Neighbor, Vanessa - After Placing Patio Furniture Cushions At A Designated Spot In The Backyard. And We Would Jump Off The Rooftop In The Backyard & Land On The Cushions. Then We'd Run Right Back Around The Front & Climb This Railing Again, & Do It Again & Again...While Adventure Movie Soundtrack Records Blasted From The Family Stereo! This Was During Those Rare Occasions When My Parents Were Gone, Of Course! LOL!

This Was The Interior Of The Front Door. It Looks Basically The Same, Too. Just No Dove Sticker In The Window That Is There Now. During Summer Vacation, Mom Would Open It Up & Bring Us Koolaid, Lemonaide, Or Popcicles (Mom & I Would Have Contests Over The Lime Green Ones Because We Both Liked Them)

I Also Have A Very Bad Memory Of This Front Door, Too, Though. It Left A Literal Scar Across My Righthand Wrist & I Still Have That Scar Today. During High School, I Would Stay At The Dorm Through The Week School Days / Nights But Would Come Home On The Weekends. Freshman Year In The Fall, I Had A Bad Cold One Weekend, But When My Parents Went To The Store, Michele Came Over And We Sat On The Porch & Talked. Mom & Dad Came Home & Were Furious That I Was Outside With A Cold. Michele Left & My Parents Chased Me Around The House To Beat Me For My "Serious Offense". To Get Away, I Ran Out This Doorway So Fast That The Outer Glass Door Slammed Hard And The Glass Broke & Flew & Sliced A Portion Of My Wrist Open. I Did Not Notice This For A Moment Or Two Until I Felt Wetness Around My Wrist. I Was Nearly Gushing Blood. Freaked Out, I Wrapped A Red Bandana I Happened To Have With Me Around My Wrist, And Ran Back In To Show My Parents What Happened - Concerned That I Might Need To Go To The Hospital. My Mother Scowled At Me And Yelled That I Was Overreacting And Didn't Need It & Ordered Me To Rinse My Wrist Off In The Bathroom. Luckily, The Bleeding Stopped & The Cut Was On Just The Right Angle So As Not To Have Actually Slashed My Wrist Open At THE WRONG Spot. But I Still Have That Scar. I Am Looking At It Right Now, As A Matter Of Fact.

The People That Bought Our House Kept A Few Things That We Were Unable To Get Out In Time. They Also Have My Mother's Piano. Just That The Piano Is Not In The House At Present. My Mother's Organ Was Not Here In This Spot When I Grew Up. It Wasn't Far, Though. It Was Against THe Wall In The Dining Room (Which You'll See In A Moment) Across From The Dining Room Table Just Inside Where The Bedroom Hallway Led Into The Dining Room Just Past The Opening To The Kitchen. Where The Divider Counter Is In This Photo Used To Be Shorter, White Wrought Iron Railing. I Remember That Once When I Was Little, I Kept Poking My Head Through The Bars And At One Point Got My Head Stuck For A Good While! Where This Organ Is Here Now Used To Be A Fountain Of A Cherub Boy Holding A Sea Serpent Of Some Kind. They Were Off-White And The Water Came Out Of The Sea Serpent's Mouth. The Base Of The Fountain Was Circular And Looked Like It Was Made Of Grayish-Off-White Stone Bricks. Behind The Boy And Sea Serent Were Plastic, Low-Hanging Palm Trees. The Side Of The Front Entrance Opened Up Into What My Parents Referred To As The "Living Room, Which Led, With No Doors, To The Dining Room.

Here Is The Interior Of The Front Window...Obviously. The Curatins Look The Same. But We Had Yellow-Green OUTER Curtains Over The Sides Of The White Curtains, Dramatically Pulled To The Sides. The Carpeting Was Pea-Green. We Had Chairs Here Just Where These Are, Too. But Our Chairs Were Fancier & Yellow. In The Middle Was A Short, Laquered Wood Octagonal Table With A Glass Top. On The Glass Were 3 Glass Swans Filled With Blue-Colored Water. One Of My First Memories At Age Three Was Running Around The House With A Blue Balloon. As I Ran Past The Table, I Knocked Over The Glass Swans And Somehow That Left A Crack Across The Glass Top Of The Table. I Got A Fierce Beating For That From My Parents.

Against The Side Wall You Don't See Here Was A Long, Matching Yellow Couch That No One Was Allowed To Sit On Except When We Had Special Company Or For Family Photo Sessions. Above The Couch Was A VERY Large, Acrylic Painting Of A River With Forest Trees On Each Side. The Top Of The Gold-Colored Frame Had Its Own Gold-Colored Overhead Light That You Could Turn On To Highlight The Painting. My Dad Still Has That Painting In His Second Wife's House Now.

Here's Where The Living Room Ends & The Dining Room Begins. Off To The Right - Which You Don't See Much Of, Were Two Tall Fancy Chairs - Green Cushioned With Gold-Trimming Design. They Stood On Either Side Of A Hanging Table In The Corner. The Table Was White Marble & Circular. The Chains Looked Like They Came Out Of A Green Octopus-Body-Shaped Covering That Matched The Chairs. Above The Plain Chair You See Here In This Photo Was A Large Color Painting Of Me At Age 3 In A White Tuxedo Resting My Chin On One Hand. The Background Was An Almost Aquamarine-Colored Light Blue.

On The Other Side Was - Next To The End Of The Yellow Couch, Another Yellow Chair. Where I'm Sitting Was A Large, Dark-Wood, WELL-Polished Table And Tall Matching Elaborate Chairs With Muted-Gold-Colored Seat-Cushions. Against The Wall Behind Me Was A VERY Large Breakfront That Contained Lots Of Knick-Knacks & Things I Had Made In School. I Remember The Three Small Satin Pillows I Had Carried As A Little Ring-Bearer In Three Weddings Of Relatives Were In There, Too. My Dad Still Has That Breakfront & It Is Now In His Second Wife's House. There Is A Photo Of It Here On This Site On The Page That Tours Sandy & dad's Home. Just Picture It HERE Instead!

Acroos From Where I Am Sitting Against THAT Wall Was Where Mom's Organ Was. Just Beyond That Was An Opening Into The Kitchen. Behind Me Was The Hallway That Led To Mine & Jeannie's Bedroom & The Hall Bathroom. Instead Of Going Into The Kitchen Just Yet, Let's Go Down The Hall!

This Was The Bathroom That Mostly Only Jeannie & I Used. We Called It "The Blue Bathroom" For It's Its Light Blue Tub & Fancy Floor Tiles.You Can't See Much Of It, But It Looks Very Much The Same - Except That The Wall Was Painted Light Blue When We Lived Here To Match The Tub & Tiles More. This Was To The Left In The Middle Of The Hallway. Just Across The Hall Is The Entrance To Jeannie's Bedroom (Ironically, Another Little Girl Lives In That Room Now, So It Still Looks Like A Little Girl's Room). If You Turn Right When Exiting And Go To The Very End Of The Hall, You Enter MY Bedroom. Just To The Right Is One Of Two Doors That Lead To My Parents' Bedroom. (They Were On The Other Side Of My Rightside Wall)

You Can't See Much Of It In These Photos (More On Their Way, Though) But This Was My Bedroom. It Looks More Like A Combination Of An Office & A Teenage Girl's Room Now. Here's How It Looked When It Was Mine. I Had Red, White, & Blue Thin-Striped Wallpaper - EXCEPT For The Wall Where The Window Was - Which Was Light Blue. My Carpeting Was Red Thick-Shag. My Bed Was A Twin-Sized Bed With A Blue Bedspread And Pillowcase. My Bed Protruded From The Center Of The Room - Almost Alongside The Window. To The Right Of My Bed - The Side Of The Room Away From The Window, Was A Nightstand. Above The Nightstand Hung From The Ceiling, A Basketball / Net Lamp. The Basketball Was Red, White, & Blue.

To The LEFT Of My Bed , In The Corner To The Side Of The Window, Was A Set Of Shelves On Brackets. Under The Window Was A Laquered Wooden Dresser Short In Height, But Long In Length. Beyond That, Against The Other Side Of The Wall On The Other Side Of The Window Was A Tall Desk / Shelves Set. My Sister & I Both Had These In Our Rooms. Dad Still Has Hers In The Guest Room Of Sandy's House. You Can See My Sister's Desk Set There On That Page. Mine Was Much Like It, But Less Elabrate Than Hers. Just Inside My Door, In The Center Of The Wall That Separated My Bedroom From My Parents' & Across From The Foot Of My Bed, Was My Stereo System - Which Was Nothing Back Then That It Is Today!

Just Inside The Bedroom Door To The Left Was Another Dresser Tall In Height, But Thinner In Length. Just To The Right Of THAT Parallel To My Bed Was The Closet.

I Used To Climb In & Out This Window (Which Looked Out Into The Back Corner Of Our Backyard & To The Side Over The Fence Was Vanessa's Bacyard) All The Time To Sneak Out With My Waiting Friends After I Was Convinced My Parents Were Asleep. Dad Would Go To Bed Early Because He Woke Up At 5am To Go Near Downtown Chicago To Work For The Meat-Packing Company. Mom Always Fell Asleep Watching TV On The Couch In The Family Room. (The Sound Of My Dad Getting Ready For Work Would Eventually Wake Her Up & Then She'd Move To Their Bedroom Instead To Finish Her Sleep)

If I Heard Them Both Snoring Deeply, That Was My Cue! I Also Snuk The Car Itself (We Had 2, But I Would Use The One My Dad Used ToThat Was Left On The Driveway)

Even When I Was Little, Vanessa Used To Sneak In Here (Though She Usually Came Through Jeannie's Window, Because Jeannie's Was Acroos From The Side Of Vanessa's House, She Sometimes Came Through Mine. Why? Because We Were Grounded All The Time For Some Petty Thing Or Another. So, Since We Couldn't Go OUT, Vanessa Would Come IN To Us & We Would Play Kid Games, Etc., Etc. In Jeannie's Room)

Ironically, When I HumOrously Told These Stories To The Current Owners Of The House, They Couldn't Believe It Because Apparantly, Their Teenage Daughter Kept Threatening To Sneak Out The Window, Too! There Must Be Some Echo Of Me Still Left In That Room That Puts That Idea In The Heads Of Whoever Lives In That Room! LOL! So, To Keep Her From Carrying Out Her Threats, The Current Owners Planted Thorny Rose Bushes Just Outside The Window (See Below). But I Can Tell You That Sure Wouldn't Have Stopped ME! LOL! AND I Sure Never Gave MY Parents ANY Sort Of Heads-Up That I Was Even THINKING Of Doing It. I Just DID It & It Was My Own Little Secret! I Wasn't About To Give MYself Away To Mom & Dad!

Also, First These Bicentennial Walls Were Covered By Disney Stuff. I Was Heavy Into Disney As A Kid (Still Am. I Wound Up Working For Disneyland) Then "Star Wars:" Posters Were All Over The Place Because I Was REALLY Into That (Still Am), Then Madonna Posters Were All Over The Place Because I Thought She Was HOT! (Still Do)

The Only Room The Current Family Wouldn't Let Me See (Because They Weren't Prepared) Was THEIR Bedroom - Which Was My Mom & Dad's Bedroom - Like Mine, Their Window Looked Out Onto The Backyard. (Their Bedroomt Would Have Been The Next Stop On Our Tour Because It was Next To My Bedroom). However, On The OTHER Side Of Their Bedroom, Was The MAIN Bathroom. The Blue Bathroom We Used To "Use he Facilities" & Whenever We Felt Like A Bath Because The Tub Was In Their. However, I Preferred SHOWERS Over Baths (Still Do), & The Blue Bathroom Was Not Equipped With A Shower Head At That Time. So, I Took My Showers In Here. The Little Window Acroos From The Sink In This Bathroom, Peeked Out Onto The Backyard Patio.

This Door Here Leads Out Into The Family Room. The Family Room Led To The Kitchen, The Front Hall To The Front Door & Porch. The Family Room Also Led Outside To The Patio & Backyard, To The Basement Door, & To The Garage Door.

Behind Me Here Is The Main Bathroom Door We Just Came Out Of. The Window Behind Me Peeks Out nto The Inner Corner Of The Patio & Backyard. We Are Now In The Family Room. Ironically, THIS Is EXACTLY Where DAd Had HIS Beige-Plaid Recliner Chair. He Would Sit There like A Buddha & Read The Newspaper Or Watch TV While Smoking His Pipe. Just Like Back Then, There Is A Small Table To The Side. Our Table There Had A Lamp On It. The Walls Covering The Entire Family Room When We Lived In Were Wood Paneling.

Ah...The Deerhead! My Dad Had It On The Center Of The Wall Above The Couch On The OTHER Side Of The Family Room, So It Was NOT Where It Is Now. Later On, It Was Moved To One Of The Paneled Pillars Downstairs In Our Finished Basement.

On The Onbe Hand, It Bothered The Hell Out Of Me Because I Love Animals And Felt So Sorry For The Poor Deer. On The Other Hand, I Knew It Was Too Late To Save It, The Damage Was Already Done & There Was Nothing I Could Do About It. SO, It Became The Tool Of MANY Of My Pranks! When My Parents Left The House - If The Doorbell Rang & I Knew It Was One Of My Friends, I Would Open The Door, Quickly Hide Behind It, And Poke The Deerhead Out Instead - Making It Look Like A Deer Was Answering The Door. When My Sister Had Her Slumber Parties In The Basement, I Would Sneak Down There (I Always Had Very Good Vision In The Dark, Ironically), Would Quietly Take The Deerhead Off The Wall, And Would Go Around The Basement Nudging My Sister's Friends On The Shoulder Or Arm With The Deerhead's Nose. They Would Freak Out That Some Furry Animal Creature Was On Them, A Panic Would Start, & My Sister, Jeannie Would Turn The Lights On To Find Me Holding The deer head And Laughing At Them. "Joey!!!" She Would Shout!

Also, We Had No Ceiling Fan When We Were There. Again, Our Family Wallls Were Wood Paneling. We Had No Blinds On The Windows Or Sliding Back Door - Just Orange, Burlap Curtains That Ran The Entire Length Of That Side Of The Room.

Just To The Side Of The Bathroom Door Behind Me Was A Divider Counter That Divided Most Of The Family Room & Kitchen. The Counter Came Up To Almost My Chest. The New Owners Have Had That Divider Counter Removed. Now There Is Nothing There. The Phone Was On The Wall Just Outside The Bathroom Above That Counter & Mom Would Almost Always Be Found During The Day On Dad's Recliner With The Phone Receiver Pinned Between Her Ear & Her Shoulder - Chatting At Length With Her Friends. My Friends - Especially Michele, Would Appear At That Sliding Back Door & Ask If I Was There. While Sitting There On The Phone, My Mother Would Often Growl Through Near-Gritted Teeth, "He's Grounded"...Then Continue Chatting On The Phone In A Suddenly Cheerful Voice. Michele & I Still Laugh About That.

This Is The View Of The Family Room That The Recling Chair Faces. Where The White Curtain Is, Picture Those Orange Burlap Curtains All The Way To The Floor! We Had A Large TV, But It Was One That Sat On The Floor - Same Spot, Though, Really. There Were NO Shelves Or Units Around The TV. Just The Wood Paneling Walls & One Of Those Sun Clocks Everyone Had In The 70's - Dark Brown - On The Wall Over The TV. There Was No Table In There. We Had Carpeting Covering The Entire Floor - Not Hard Wood Floors. Our Carpeting Was Red With Black Dalmation-Like Spots All Over. Went Well With The Orange Burlap Curtains (Just Like The Orange Burlap Curtains In "The Brady Bunch" House Where They Ate Their Dinner) , The Wood Paneling Walls, And Beige-Plaid Recliner And Couch!

This Was My Favorite Spot To Watch TV. Forget The Furniture. I Preferred To Sit Or Lay On The Floor. I Needed To Be Nearby Anyway Because , Back In The Pre-Remote Control Days, My Parents Had ME Change The Channel For Them. I Was Their Living Remote Control. Ironically, Though, They Would Constantly Get On My Case That Sitting Up There Was Bad For My Eyes. I Needed Glasses Or Contacts Anyway, So I Held My Ground On That & They Eventually Gave Up.

For Awhile There, Jeannie & I Were Given Our Own Bean Bag Chairs. Mine Was A Yellow Turtle With An Orange Shell, And Red Around His Eyes. I Think Jeannie's Was A Blue And Green Fish. Later On, We Exchanged The Animal Bean Bag Chairs For More Basic Ones. Mine Was Red.

Benji (Who I Always Called Benj For Short), Our Cuddly Miniature Schnauzer, Used To Come & Watch TV With Me. It Was Very Cute. He Would Walk Over, Look At Me, Look At The TV, Back At Me, Back At The TV, Then Flop Down Beside Me With His Elbow On My Knee & We Would Watch The Tube Together. God, I Miss Him!

I LOVED It When My Uncle Al (Mom's Cousin Who Worked For A Hi-Fi Stereo Comany) Got Us Our Large Stereo TV & Hi-Fi VCR During The Dawn Of Video Units Later Into My Teenage Years. My FAVORITE Movie To Watch On That New System..."Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi". I LOVED The Rumbles You Could Feel When The Ships Flew, Etc., Etc.!! My Other Favorite Movie Was "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". Why? Because I LIVED It!

This Was Where Our Big Couch Was, Too - Across The Room From The Recliner. Our Couch Was A Beige Plaid, Though. And, Again, The Walls Were Wood Paneling. The Deerhead Used To Be Above In The Center. Also Hanging Up Was An Art Piece I Had Made In School. It Was A Multi-Colored Sunset Over Water (With A Reflection Of The Sunset With A Few Clouds & Silhouettes Of Birds Flying In The Sky) It Was Pretty Good For Crayons If I Do Say So Myself. My Mother Was Actually Very Proud Of It And Of My Artistic Abilities That Somehow Suddenly Emerged While I Was In 4rth Grade. (For Some Reason, 4rth Grade Was My Renaissance Year - I Discovered I Was An Artist, I Discovered I Could Write Well & Won First Prize In A Halloween Story-Writing Contest, I Started Playing The Cello & Won Solo Contests, & I Put On My First School Play - Playing A HIGHLY Driven, Ambitious Mouse Who Aspired To Become An Astronaut, Got Standing Ovations Every Night & Was Hailed As A Great Actor - All This During My 4rth Grade Year) Mom Had That Particular Art Piece Framed & She Hung It Over The Couch On This Wall.

Now, From The Family Room, We Can Go In Four Different Directions. We Can Go Into The Kitchen, We Could Go Outside Into The Backyard, Or We Could Walk Forward, Make A Right Next To The TV. From There We Can Either Walk Striaght Ahead Into The Garage, Or We Can Make Another Right & Go Down Into The Finished Basement. Let's Go To The Basement First. We Can See The Garage, Kitchen, & Backyard Afterward When We Come Back Upstairs.

I Was Often Shoved Down Here & Locked In For Punishments & Was Forbidden To Turn Any Lights On For Long Periods Of Time When I Was REAL Little Because My Parents KnewI Thought There Were Monsters Down There When The Lights Were Out. They Would Often See Me Upstairs Putting My Ear To The Family Room Floor Vent. I Would Hear The Noises *& Think That Monsters Were Making Those Noises. I Remember Thinking That A Mad Scientist Was Making A Frankenstein Monster Down There Because Of The Subtle Pounding From The Vents. My Parents Thought It Was Funny But They Took Full Advantage Of It When They Were In Their Angry War-Path Moods When They Locked Me Down There.

But I Also Had A Lot Of Fun Down Here, Too. The Stairs Had A Plastic Covering That Ran Down The Middle. And I Used To Grab The Cushions From The Couches Down There And Sled Down The Stairs On Them. (Of Course I Never Did This In Front Of Mom & Dad - Only Jeannie - Who Joined Me). When I Got A Bit Older, I Turned The Monster Thing On Its Head & Actuaslly Made My OWN "Haunted Houses" Down There For The Other Neighborhood Kids. I Used To Also Turn The Couches Over & Pretend They Were Forts & Tunnels & Places To Hide.

The Carpeting Has Changed, Of Course. But The Wood Paneling Walls Remain, Though. The Carpeting When We Lived There Was An Aquamarine Color With Small Zig-Zaggy_Black Spots All Over.

At The Bottom Of The Stairs To The Side Is The Laundry Room Where The Washer, Cryer, Big Sink, & All The Household Pumps Are. My Father Also Kept Two Freezers Down Here All The Way To The Right Of The Wash Machine, Dryer, & Sink, Where He Would Store All The Extra Meat He Brought Home From The Meat-Packing Company He Worked For. I Would Come Down Here & Grab The Chicken Kiev I Loved. There Were BOXES Of It.

As For Laundry, It Became My Job To Do The Laundry. My German Father Insisted My Mother Do It. But Out Of Protest Of That Wife-Waits-On-Husband Mindset, My Mother Often Refused. So Guess Who Got To Do It For EVERYBODY Instead? Thusly, I Learned How To Do My Own Laundry At A VERY Early Age- Which Actually, I'm Grateful For. A Lot Of Guys Even Today Go Through Life Never Having A Clue About How To Do Their Laundry. It Was Also My Job To Fill The Sub-Pump With The Very Heavy Bags Of Specialized Salt.

Here Is A Small Part Of The HUGE Finished Basement. Since The Current Owners Are Raising Girls, This Area Is FILLED With Girl Toys. But That Obviously Wasn't Here When We Lived There.

What WAS There - Behind Me Against The Wall Was Mom's Piano. Against The Wall To The Side Of Me, Was Mom's EXTRA Organ. Next To The Piano Was / Is A Door That Leads To The Strage Room Which Was Filled With Old Toys, Clothes, Christmas Tree & Holiday Stuff, A Wardrobe For My Parents Clothes They Didn't Wear Anymore, & Lots Of Boxes. NextTo That Was An Extra Bathroom. I Would Sometimes Take Showers Down Here. But After Watching "Psycho" For The First Time In My Pre-Teens, For Awhile There, I Was Afraid To - At Least Down Here! LOL. But I Soon Outgrew That "Fear". Right Acroos From Me - Out Of View Of This Photo, Is The Wet Bar. To My Delight, It Looks Exactly The Same! Wood Paneling Base & Orange Counter Top. Liquor Bottles Of All Kinds In The Shelves Inside The Bar Counter, & Also On Shelves On The Wall Behind The Bar. My Parents Used This For The Many Family Parties My Parents Used To Throw. The Distant Relatives Came For The Free Food.

Ironically, My Parents Did NOT Have To Worry About Me Getting Into The Liquor (Of Course, I Secretly TRIED It - With A Tiny Sip Or Two - But THe Stuff Tasted God-Awful To Me & I Wanted Nothing To Do With It). What They DID Have To Worry About Was My Getting Into The Marischino Cherries! I LOVED Those Cherries & Polished Off Bottles At A Time! But The Liquor - Wouldn't Go NEAR It.

You Can't See The REST Of The Basement In This Photo (More Pics On Their Way Soon, Though), But The OTHER Side Was Filled With Couches, Another Recliner, Another Big TV In The Far Corner, Next To That Was An Artificial Fireplace Attached To The Wall, And An Old Large Record Player Under The Ground Level Window To The Other Side Of The TV. Off To The SideNear The Stairs And Acroos From The Wet Bar Was My Air Hockey Table. It Was A Christmas Present One Year. Back When I Was A Pre-Teen When We Had Our Christmnases In The Basement (We Later Moved It Upstairs In The Living Room), I Came Down & Found It With A Big Bow On It. One Thing I Had To Give My Parents. They Have Treated Me Horribly A Lot Of The Time. But When It Came To Christmas, They Were VERY Generous (Maybe It Was A Guilty Conscience Thing? Who Knows?) As Long As I Never ASKED For Something, If They Saw I Was Enthusiastic About Anything In Particular, They Got It At Christmas. But If I EVER ASKED - Forget It - I Would Never Get It. I Didn't Get Much On My Birthdays. But Christmas I Got The Jack Pot!

My FAVORITE 4 Gifts I Ever Got For Christmas Were: A Mickey Mouse Drum Set - Which We Kept In The Basement Till It Got Busted Years Later. It Was A Real Drum Set & I Was A Tiny Tot Who Had A Pretty Good Sense Of Rhythmn. Still Do. My "Bozo Show" Home Version Grand Prize Game (6 Red Buckets You Lined Up & Spaced Evenly & Tried To Throw Ping-Pong Balls Into. On The TV Show, If You Were Picked, With Every Ball You Landed In A Bucket, You Got Another Prize. When We Got Word That Were FINALLY Going To Get On That Show, I Wanted To Master The Game In Case I Was Picked So That I Could Win - And I DID Master It. (There Is A Tragic Story Involving That For Which I Almost Never Forgave My Mother Because I WOULD Have Been Picked Had I Not Been Grounded From Going To The Show Over A Petty Thing, But You Can Read That On My Other Site In "My Memoirs")

My Other 2 Favorite Christmas Gifts Were A "Star Wars" Luke Skywalker Doll (Which Was Presented To Me With All The Smaller Action Figures & Playsets, Too) Circa 1977, & That Air Hockey Table! I Developed My Own Techique & Became An Expert At Air Hockey!

Time To Go Back Up The Stairs. We'll Turn To Take A Quick Peek Into The Garage. Looks Like The Owners Use It As A Workshop. Back In The Day, We Would Either Have One Or Both Cars In Here. (Both Buicks - One Smaller Maroon Red, One Land Yacht Blue - Depending On Whether Or Not We Were Using Our Bycycles A Lot At The Time. If We Were, Then They Would Be Parked On The Ground & One Of The Cars Would Be Parked On The DRiveway. If Not, The Bikes Were Hung From The Ceiling & Both Cars Would Be In The Garage.)

That Other Door Used To Be A Clear Glass Door. It Leads To The Side Of The House.

One Year, The Garage Attic (Out Of View Of This Pic, But Beyond Where You See These Bicycles Hanging) Light Was Noticed By My Friends & I To Be Mysteriously On. We Know My Dad Couldn't Go Up There. My Mother Wouldn't, Either. There Was Nothing Up There. No One EVER Went Up There My Entire Life. Yet The Light Would Be On During That Particular Year At That Particular Time. It Inspired My Friends & I To Use A Ouija Board (Unbeknownst To My Parents, Of Course - We Did These "Experiments" In The Basement) To Try & Find Out What Was Up With That. A Few Freaky Things Happened In The Process. WThough I Was Never Sure If My Friends Were Pushing The Glass, We Got What Seemed To Be A Foul-Mouthed Prankster "Spirit". We Tried Automatic Writing. I Found I Was Able To Write With My LEFT Hand (Something I Was Never Able To Do Before) & SIDEWAYS During These Attempted Sessions.Then, All Of A Sudden, I Couldn't Do It Anymore, Nothing Appeared On The Ouija Board, & Also Mysteriously, The Garage Attic Light Didn't Come On Anymore, Either. Hmmmm.

Okay. Back Inside The Family Room Again. Now. Behind Me Is The Kitchen. Let's Go!

Here I Am With Michele & Vanessa - My 2 Neighbors & Life-Long Best Friends - Literally! To The Right Of My House - There Was One House Between Michelle's & Mine. She Lived On The Corner Of Our Streets - Lurel Drive & Aztec Lane. I Was On Laurel Drive. She Was Technically On Aztec Lane. We've Been Best Friends Since Our Families Moved Into Their Brand New House Here When We Were Less Than 6 Months Old! Michele Is Only 2 Years Younger Than Me. Michele Is The Shoter Brunette.

Vanessa Was :Literally The Girl Next Door On The Opposite Side Of My House. Her Sister Yvonne Is A Month Younger Than Me. Vanessa Is Almost 2 Years Younger. I Was Friends With BOTH Yvonne & Vanessa, But It Was Vanessa That My Sister, Jeannie & I Did Lots Of Crazy Adventurous Things With! I Probably Already Said That. Oh, Well. MANY More Details On My Other Site - http://gerard_christian_zac.tripod.cojm in "My Memoirs" There. Vanessa Is The Taller Blonde.

It Was Only Fitting That I Visit My Old House WITH My Two Old Best Friends That Spent Almost As Much Time In It As Me! Behind Us You Can See The Front Hallway That Leads To The Front Door & Porch Again.

Now THIS Room Has REALLY Changed! For One, We Used To Have Carpeting In The Kitchen (Now WHO Has Carpeting In Their Kitchen? Come On! But We Did.) It Was A Bruise-Colored Yellow Patterned With Large Squares Outlined In Brown. Inside The Squares Were Large Diamonds Outlined In Green. Inside The Diamonds Were Small Brown Circles Fully Colored In. There Were No Plates Adorning The Tops Of The Walls, There Was NO Sun Roof (A New Feature The New Owners Put In), The Cabinets Weren't As New-Looking Or As Finished. The Oven Was Not Black, But White. That Oven Caused A Few Bad Flashbacks Because Hanging From The Side Of It By A Strong, Removable Magnet Hook Used To Be The Belt (Referred To By My Parents As "The Strap"). It Was One Of The Many "Weapons" My Parents Used To Whip & Beat Me With. If They Had A FAVORITE "Weapon", The Strap Was It, Though. This Oven Was Also My Enemy Because I Had To Do Almost All The Chores In This House & My Parents Would Time Me By Setting The Oven Timer. If It Buzzed & I Wasn't Done, I Would Get A Beating, It Would Be Re-Set, & I Would Be Sent To Do The Chore Again. Sometimes, I Was Made To Kneel In The Corners Of The Family Room For An Hour After A Beating. Then The Process Would Be Repeated, Etc., Etc..

It Was Also In This Kitchen That, Once My Father Came Home From Work, My Mother Used To Drag Us By The Hair Over To Him (His Seat Was At The Head Of The Table - Just Across From Where The Oven Is), & He Would Grab Us & Slam Our Hands Down On The Table. Then He Would Grabb A Cleaver With His Other Hand, Bring It Almost To Our Hands & Convince Us He Was Going To Chop Our Fingers Off. His Being A Butcher For A Living, & Given His Intense German, We Believed He Was Going To Actually Do It Everytime. But Obviously, He Never Did.

Jeannie Got The Abuse, Too, But I Got It The WORST. She Could Get Away With LOTS Of Things That I Couldn't. But As We Got Older, I Got More & More Protective Of Her & One Day, I Stopped All Physical Abuse By Hitting My Father In Defense Of Her When He Had Her Cowering In A Corner Of My Parents Room About To Beat Her With A Long Metal Shoe-Horn. I Just Wasn't Going To Let Them Hurt Her Anymore. No More Episodes After That. But That Is Another Story You Can Read In "My Memoirs" On The Other Site. Back To The Moment At Hand...My Awe At How Much The Kitchen Has Changed!

Some More Light-Hearted Moments In This Kitchen...We Were Not Allowed In Here When My Dad Was Cooking. My Mom Cooked, Too, But My Dad Was Also An Experienced Chef...And He LOVED His Food! He Was Almost Always In The Kitchen Either MAKING The Food Or EATING It. My Only Job In The Kitchen Was To Set The Table & Do The Dishes & Clean Up Afterward. I Had To Wash The Dishes By HAND - DESPITE The Fact That We Had A Dish-Washing Machine.

I Didn't Eat In The Kitchen Much Once I Got To Be A Certain Age. Why? Because Dad's Tables Manners Ruined My Appetite! He Made EVERY Disgusting Noise Possible When He Ate. He Slobbered. He Slurped. He Gulped Louder Than Anyone I Have Ever Known. He Even Grunted & Groaned When He Ate. And He Would Eat With His Mouth Fully Open. And, Since My Seat Was Right Across From Him Against The Wall (Next To The Phone On The Wall), He Would Always STARE At Me Whenever He Shoveled The Food Into His Mouth - His Eyes Bulging Out - Looking Directly At ME. Don't Know Why. Could Never Figure It Out. He Ate EVERYTHING Right Down To The BONE. But That Wasn't Enough. Though There Wasn't A SHRED Of Meat Left On The Bones, He Would STILL Chew The Bones Like An Eager Dog - Still Grunting & Groaning - As If In Protest That There Was No More Food Left On His Plate. Like He Refused To Accept The Fact That He Had Already Finished His Dinner! When Jeannie & I Were Little, It Was Funny To Us & Made Us Laugh. And Even Though It Was Obvious Mom Knew What We Were Laughing At & Was Obviously Disgusted Herself, We Would Get Sent To Our Rooms & Not Allowed To Finish Our Meals. But As We Got Older, It Wasn't Funny Anymore - It Was Downright DISGUSTING & I Just Couldn't Take It, So I Began To Grab My Plate & Go Out Into The Family & Finish My Meal In Front Of The TV. There Was Protest Over This At First, But I Was NOT Going Back To That Table. Jeannie Soon Joined The Trend, & Even Mom Did, Too. And Dad Just Kept Eating...And Eating...And Eating.

Now There Are 2 Permanant Effects On Me Because Of That. One...I Am EXTRA Sensitive To Noises People Make When They Eat. And, Two...Whenever I Eat At Home, It HAS To Be While Watching TV!

Seating Arrangements...I'll Go Over EVERYONE'S Seating Arrangements. Again, Dad Sat At The Head Across From The Oven. Mom Sat In Front Of The Refridgerator, I Sat Acroos From Dad gainst The Wall, Jeannie Sat Across From Mom - Her Back To The Divder Counter Facing Away From The Family Room, & First Dutchess The Pointer & Later Benji The Miniature Schnauzer Was Under The Table Hoping For People Food. (They Secretly Got Everything I Didn't Like Slipped To Them!) Next To Me Was The Stand On Wheels With The HUGE Microwave Oven.

Now I Am Back In The Family Room Next To The Recliner. Ready To Head Outside Onto The Patio?

There Used To Be Nothing Here In This Corner Except A Patio Swing Off To The Side. The Windows Behind Me Peek Into The Main Bathroom & The Other Into The Family Room Just Behind The Recliner. This Little Bar The Current Owners Put Here Is Really Nice! Wissh We Had Thought Of That!

There Used To Be A Wire Fence Here Wrapped With Green Rubber Along The Side Separating Our House From The Shavingders House Between Mine & Michele's. (Vanessa's Was Next Door On The OTHER Side) Speaking Of Michele & Vanessa, There They Are Behind Me.

Why Am I Sitting Here In Fron In Front Of The The Air Conditioner? This Was My FAVORITE Place To Just Sit & Relax, Think, Reflect, Whatever When I Was Alone During The Summer. My Parents Thought I Was Crazy Because It Was & Humid Outside. But I LOVE Strong, Warm, Dry Air! I Have A Real THING For It. And That Was The Point. It Was DRY Warm Wind Gusting Out Onto Me. They Used To Yell At Me When They Happened To Notice I Was There. But I'd Go Right Back There Immediately. The Air Conditioner During MY Time Was A Big, Gray-Colored Box. The Entire Fromnt Was A Big Vent. I LOVED IT!

Just Behind Me - On The Outer Bend Of The Sidewalk Just Before You'd Step Onto The Patio, Were My Toddler Hand & Foot Prints Immortalized In The Cement - Just Like At The Chinese Theater. The Sidewalk Back Then Along The Side Here Was Plain. The Owners Fancied It Up Just Last Year. They Said That If I Had Visited As Late as Last Year, It Still Would Have Been There. And They Sort Of Feel Bad For Removing It After Getting To Know Me Now. But I Understand, Of Course.

Now THIS Was Not Here When I Grew Up _ The Extra Roof / Columns Over The Patio. It Was All Completely Open. We DID Have A Patio Swing & Matching Chair Or Two, Though. I Am Standing Where My Dad's Grill Used To Be. It Was Permanantly Fixed Into That Spot With A Gas Line. Dad LOVED To Barbeque During The Summer. It Was A Tradition On The Fourth Of July That Everyone Would Come Over To OUR House & My Dad Delighted In Cooking For Everybody - Steaks, Hamburgers, Hot Dogs. Then We'd Have Watermelon & Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Cakes From The 31 Flavors Parlor Nearby. When It Got Dark, My Parents Gave Us All Sparklers To Have Fun With While We Watched The Fireworks Going Off All Around The Neighborhood.

Further Into The Yard Behind Me Was An Elaborate Silver Colored Metal Gymn Set - Complete With "Monkey Bars", Swings, Ringers, Ladders, Etc. I Was A VERY Gymnastic, Acrobatic Child (Still Have It In Me), & This Served Me Well!

As Early As Age 5, My Friends & I Used To Put On Nursery Rhyme Plays & "Variety Shows" Back Here For The Parents & Neighbors. Guess Who's Idea THAT Was?! They Paid Us A Nickel Or A Quarter For "Admission". I Was Always The Director & Gave Myself An Acting Role To Play As Well. Our First Play Was "Goldie Locks & The 3 Bears". I Played Papa Bear, Yvonne Played Mama Bear, Vanessa Played Baby Bear & Michele - A BRUNETTE - Played Goldie Locks! LOL! I Still Remember Her In Her Orange Flower-Print Dress With Its Orange Plastic Belt! LOL We Also Did "The 3 Little Kittens Who Lost Their Mittens". As The Director, I Remember The Others Would Just Throw Their Mittens Up In The Air. They Shouted, "Oh, Our Mittens! They're Lost! And I Said, "No, No No! No One's Going To Believe You've Lost Them Like THAT! You Have To Really LOSE Them, Not Just Throw Them Up Into The Air!" LOL! Our Variety Shows Consisted Of Us Doing PHand Puppet Routines, Various Skits, Gymnastic Tricks On The Gymn Set, & My playing The Cello & Yvonne & Vanessa Playing The Violin. Mom Would Make Cookies, Cakes, & Lemonaide For Everybody. I Remember Our Last Show Happened To Be During A TV Show About The New King Tut Exhibit At The Museum. I Really Wanted To watch It, But We Had A Show To Put On!

There Was More To This View Before. The Neighbors Directly Behind Us Used To Have 2 HUGE Willow Tress That Hung Over Into Our Yard. There Was One On Either Side Of Their Red Shed There. The Yard Next To Theirs Had Tall Bushes That Covered Their Yard From Our View. The Yard Directly NEXT To Mine Was Vanessa's. We Used To Hop Over Each Other's Fences When We Played. Well, She Would CLIMB & I Would HOP. Being As Gymnastic As I Was, I Could (And Still Can - Tested Myself During This Visit) - Vault Myself Up & Over The Fence In One Leap. (Vanessa Was Gymnastic, Too, Though. She Just Didn't Do The Vault Thing)

Just To The Side Of The Shed And Left Willow Tree - AWAY From The Direction Of Vanessa's Yard & Toward The Shavingders...Is A BIG Electric Box That Controls The Enire Block. Yup. It Was In OUR Yard, Thank You Very Much. We Would, As Kids, Love To Climb Up On It, Grab The Hanging Branches Of The Willow Tree, & Swing Off The Box. The Owners Here Now Don't Like The Box & Put A White Fence All Around It. Never Bothered ME, Though. Next To That Box Closer Still To The Shavingders Big Red Fence / Yard Was My Dad's Red Shed. The Owners Have Removed That Shed.

I Remember Having Fun Playing Chase With Benj (My Schnauzer) Back Here In The Grasy Area A Lot. I Miss That. It Was Also My Job To Mow Both The Front & Back Lawns. THAT, I Do NOT Miss! LOL!

Here I Am Outside Of My Bedroom Window That Looked Out Into The Backyard - And LED Out Here If You Climbed Through It Like I Did All The Time. Those Thorn Bushes Were Not There. Again, The Owners Now Put Them Their To Keep THEIR Daughter Freom Carrying Out Her Threats Of Sneaking Out Like I Used To!

Now We Are Back Out In The FRONT Of The House. It Has Gotten Dark. We Had Lost Track Of Time While Chit-chatting With The House Owners For Hours. This Tree Is Next To The Mailbox Out At The End Of The Driveway. I Spent MUCH Of My Childhood Up IN This Same Tree! So Did Vanessa & Jeannie. But Especially ME. I Was A Real Tree-Climber.! Of Course, Mom & Dad Tried Not To Let Me. But Most Of The Time They Didn't Know. but I Got Caught A Few Times. The Most MEMORABLE Time I Got Caught Was When My DadInstantly Figured Out Michele's Joke! He Pulled Up In The Driveway, & Asked Her In His Bass German -Accented Voice, "Where's Joey" (Sounded More Like "Vere's Jooey") Michele Thought She'd Be Cute When She Replied, "Oh, He's...Hanging Around." And, Damnit, Dad Got The Pun & Looked Right Up The Tree & Spotted Me! "Jooey! Gesh Yoah Ash Down From Dere NOW!", He Bellowed! Michele Vanessa, & I Still Crack Up Over That! In Fact, Michele Can Do Voice Impersonations Of EVERYONE In My Family Better Than Even I Could! She Is The BEST! I Wish She Had The Courage To Make A Comedy Routine Out Of That! But She Can't Bring Herself To Do It In Front Of Anyone Else But Us, Alas! Well, Getting Back To The Point. This Was MY Tree On Every Level! No Pun Intended!

Even Though Our Mailbox Was Different And Not As Bulky (But Still Black), I Still Had To Hug It Symbolically, Because I Never Wanted This House To Leave Our Family, And It Is Damn Near Impossible To Say Good-Bye To It Again. But I was Welcomed Back By The Owners Anytime I'm In The Area, Which Is A Comforting Thought.

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This Is Michele's House. Again, The FRONT Of Her House Faces Her Street - Aztec Lane. The SIDE Of Her House & Yard Are On MY Street - Laurel Drive.

Across From Her House Is The Cul De Sac Where Other Neighborhood Kids & I Played Softball. I Would Later, While Living Briefly In Phoenix Arizona After My Army Training, Join A Soft Ball League. But It Was SOCCER I Liked Even Better & Was Better At Because I Played Soccer For The Community District Growing Up. And My Dad Loved To Take Vanessa & I, And Later My High School Buddy, Rich & I To The Chicago Team Soccer Games. The Team Back Then Was Called "The Sting".

INSIDE MICHELE'S KITCHEN - HERE IS MICHELE, ME, AND MICHELE'S MOM, MRS. P. Mrs. P. Was Very Miuch A Second Mom To Me Throughout My Life.

BELOW THAT IS VANESSA, ME, & MRS. P.

Thanks For Visiting!

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