I can't really remember much about my childhood, other than we moved around quite alot. Dad was always being transfered. The reason that I can't remember is because I couldn't hear, I had learned to read lips (or so my Dad tells me). My eardrums had deteriorated when I was very young. I had surgery when I was 7, in San Francisco, Ca. The Doctors made me some man-made eardrums with tissue from above both ears. Now I have at least 88% hearing, which is good considering.
I do remember living in several States. We lived in Norfolk, Va. when I was in 1st & 2nd grade, Klamath, CA. in the 3rd grade, Flomaton, Al. in the 4th grade, Inglewood, Ca. in the 5th grade, Flomaton, Al. (again) in the 6th & 7th grade, then I finished the rest of my high school education at Atmore High in Atmore, AL. I graduated top (I might add) 10 of my class in May 1975. During my Sophomore thru Senior year I was a volunteer Candy Striper & I worked as a Nurse's Aide at Greenlawn Hospital. I recieved 2 Scholarships to attend Mobile Infirmary Nursing School. I took the college pre-entrance exam (A.C.T.) submitted my application & was accepted. Well, we all know how young kids are, hard headed & won't listen, they think love can conquer the world. I didn't attend college, I decided to get married instead.
The man I married at the age of 18 was James, I met him in my Junior year of high school. We fell in love & were married on Nov. 15, 1975. My first son was born (still 18 years old) James Jr. (I call him Jimmy) on May 25, 1976 he weighed 7lbs 10oz., in Pasacagoula, MS. We kinda raised each other (since I was so young at the time). We moved from MS. when Jimmy was less than a year old, back to Atmore. Jim Sr. and myself started having marital problems early in the marriage, Jim Sr. drank alot & we separated more times than I care to remember. Jim Sr., was young also he was only 19 at the time. I can't blame him for the fault in our marriage. We were just plain & simply put Too Young at the time. He hadn't experienced life, nor had I. He wanted to be with his friends and I just wanted someone to love me. My first son & I became really close with each other. He stayed with me everywhere I went. I remember times when My Family would tell me Gail, leave him with us, we will babysit for you, go & enjoy yourself. I wouldn't listen, Jimmy went with me. If he couldn't go then I didn't need to go. I needed his love & he needed mine. We are still to this day, very close. We have a strong bond between us, we talk about everything with each other. As I grew older, I wanted more children, Jim Sr. didn't want anymore. He didn't want the responsibility I guess. I had these overwhelming feelings that wanted to be needed. Children gave that to me. They filled a void (emptiness) in my life. I had all this love to give & wanted to share it with someone. We had my second (I was 22 years old) child Benjamin born in Brewton,Al. on February 26, 1980 he weighed 8lbs 6oz. Things didn't change for us even though we tried to make the marriage last, for the children .. unfortunately we divorced in January 1982 (I was 23). We parted on good terms though, we stay in contact with each other, we call one another to talk on occassions. We remain the best of friends & the boys visit with Jim Sr. often. He still lives in Atmore which is only 30 miles away from us. You know we all say we wish we could go back in time & do things differently, if given the opportunity. I would have to disagree with that, I feel very fortunate & I am very thankful for my two sons that were conceived during our marriage together. They are truly a blessing to me. I love both of them with all my Heart. I am very proud of their achievements. I tried to teach them values that I had lived & learned. They both are fine Men, I am proud to be their Mother. Both have qualities that are rare in most people today. They will no doubt make wonderful husbands & fathers. Of course I am prejudice, thats what Mother's are famous for.
I started going out & dating people, searching for the right one. There were times when I thought I would never find him. Was it me? Am I so different from others? Isn't there someone for me out there, that can give me the love I needed so desperately? Is this because I didn't feel loved by my parents when I was younger? Then finally the time came when I thought yes this is him. He is the Right one. I met Ricky at a Lounge while out dancing. We dated for about six months or so & he proposed. I married again (I was 24) on January 16,1983 to Ricky. We had my third child together, (I was 25) Tabitha born on March 26,1984 she weighed 7lbs 12oz., in Brewton, AL. We started having marital problems also. Seems trouble follows me where ever I go. Ricky had trouble making a commitment to me, (he thought he could just take off for weeks at a time, without his wife & kids) during our first 7 years of marriage. We had my fourth child Ricky Jr. (I was 29) was born on February 9, 1987, he weighed 9lbs, in Atmore,Al. Little Ricky was born very sick, within two weeks, he was taken to the Doctor, he had Spinal Meningistis, Reflux (urinary tract infection) & Ecoli. He almost didn't make it. He stayed in the hospital for one month after he was admitted. I never left the hospital until he was able to come home. This was another difficult time for me. I had to watch my little baby being poked on daily. He had Iv's placed in his head & arm & blood samples taken from his arms, bottom of his feet. He had to have a Spinal Tap preformed every other day, to check the progression of the Spinal Meningistis. I wasn't allowed in the room when the procedure was taking place. I would stand outside the room, not wanting to leave. Placing my back up against the wall, as I listened to my baby screaming & crying from the pain he was feeling. I slowly slid down the wall, to the floor. I felt so weak, my legs wouldn't hold me up. I felt so helpless during this time. I felt guilty thinking I had done something during pregnancy that might have contributed to his sickness. I can't tell you how happy & relieved I felt, when he finally was well enough to come home. He now is a perfect little boy, you would never know by looking at him, that he was ever that sick. I am so thankful to God, for not taking my baby from me & allowing me to raise my little boy. Ricky & I continued to stay together until Ricky Jr. was about one year old. Then at that time, we were living in Troy, Al. at the time & we separated in 1990 (age 33) & I moved in with my sister Debbie in Flomaton. Sometime later on (not exactly sure when all of these events took place), Ricky finally realized that he was married & had children. He finally started coming around to see us & he admitted he had a lot of growing up to do. He asked me to come back to him, & try to make a go of this marriage. I accepted his offer & we got back together once again. My only exception was that he didn't leave us anymore when times weren't going smoothly. Well it was about 2 years & things were ok with us, he was trying very hard.
Then there came another difficult time in my life, when I least expected it. Ricky has this nephew named Billy,& his wife named Stacey, they had a little boy named Tyler born on July 17, 1992 in Brewton. They asked me to babysit for them so Stacey could go to school (Tyler was only three weeks old at that time). I agreed (being I just love babies) to help them. It turned into a full time arrangement with me raising Tyler & them babysitting on occasions. I raised him as if he were my own son for about 2 1/2 years, then his Mom (Stacey) decides it would be in Tyler's best interest for me not to keep him anymore. Well needless to say I totally lost my self control, that had to be the most difficult time of my entire life. I wanted to DIE. It felt as though I had lost my own child. I couldn't breathe without thinking of him, couldn't eat, didn't even want to wake up in the mornings. A part of me was missing, gone. I would go to see him & he would cry to go with me, wrapping his little legs onto me & locking his arms around me, clinging, not wanting me to leave him. Stacey would have to pull & pry him off of me. It seemed that this little boy was suffering & grieving as much as me. What must be going through his head, he was so young, did he think that I abandoned him? That I didn't want him anymore. Did he know I wasn't his mommee? Was he thinking I didn't love him? Would he be safe? Would he have something to eat? Would she cuddle him at night & sing him to sleep? Someone that didn't want to be there for him when he was a baby, to see his first tooth come in, watch his first step, say his first word. Oh Lord, I didn't understand. God forgive me, but I questioned you during this time in my life. Why?? Why make this little boy suffer so? About one month went by, I was able to keep him again. I can't begin to tell you how it felt to have him in my arms again. I was a complete person again..One whole, I had all of my children at home. My marriage wasn't perfect but I had my children with me. Sometimes I think thats why I loved the children so & became so overly protective with them, I gave them all my love & they gave me their unconditional love in return, a love that I wasn't receiving from my marriages.
On May 24,1995 I received a phone call around 11am, from Ricky's Boss, where my husband works, it seemed there had been an accident. Ricky works for this cross-tie company, they shred cross-ties & they sell the chips for fuel for a company around here. He was operating some heavy equipment, at the time, loading the cross-ties onto a conveyor belt. One of the ties got hung up in the shredder, part of his job was to remove the ties when they are hung up. These ties have metal plates in them & when he was trying to remove the tie, one of those plates flung out & hit him on the right side of his face. I was told it hit him so hard it knocked him over the conveyer belt. They took him in an Ambulance to a local hospital. I flew to the Emergency Room, I was taken in to see him, I didn't recognize my husband. His face had a large laceration under his eye, it just laid open, he was bleeding profusely, he faded in & out of consiousness, he had a laceration on his eye, & his upper lip was split all the way through. They Life-flighted him to a hospital in Florida. To this day I can't remember how I drove myself to the hospital, which is about 50 miles from here. I had so much on my mind. How was he? Was he in alot of pain? Does he know what has happened? Would he survive? Why wouldn't they let me ride with him? My children who would get them from school? Thank Goodness my sister (Debbie) was there for me. Some of my family members came to the hospital to sit with me during this time. I sat there in the emergency lobby in a state of shock, numb, waiting for them to tell me something. I would go in to see him when they let me. He just laid there unconscious, bleeding. What was taking so long? Why aren't they doing something for him? I was given a nerve pill to calm me down. Finally, the Doctor came out & told me they had to do surgery to remove the broken bone fragments. We waited quietly in the lobby for this procedure to be done. The Doctor came out to tell me the damage done to Ricky. He had a shattered upper & lower jaw, his teeth they told me were just floating in his mouth. A shattered right cheek, the bone that held the right eye in place was shattered, A broken nose, it shattered both right & left sinus cavities. He was lucky to be alive. Ricky had a total of around 5 surgeries to repair the damage. The Doctor (Oral Surgeon) wired his mouth shut to mend his broken upper & lower jaw. Another Doctor (Plastic Surgeon) repaired his face with metal plates & screws. He placed a plate to hold his right eye in place, & a plate for his right cheek bone. He done a wonderful job. We took Ricky home after 10 days in the hospital , he wasn't able to eat anything. I had to blend up everything for him to suck through a straw. The Oral Surgeon informed us that Ricky had to keep his mouth wired shut for eight weeks. He lost alot of weight. He was in alot of pain. Ricky wasn't able to return to work until August 21st. Ricky has a bad scar under his right eye which leads to just under his right cheek, which as time goes by it is fading. He lost all of his upper teeth & most of his lower. He has a full upper denture & a partial denture for the lower. He is doing very well now. He has headaches & loud noises seem to bother him & he has trouble with his breathing because of no sinuses. We are just thankful he is alive & with us today.
Well here it is October 1998, I still help raise Tyler, age 6, & he is in Kindergarden (He had to repeat kindergarden again this year, bless his heart). He has a rough time being ying- yanged back & forthe between two families. I feel very fortunate to be able to share & be part of his life. He is precious to all of us, my kids think of him as their little brother. We would do anything in the world for him. He calls us Momma Aunt Gail & Daddy Uncle Ricky, he calls Jim, Bubba. We love him so much, he is like my own biological son. My oldest son Jim, age 22, has graduated from DeVry Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga. on July 13,1997, he majored in Computer Information Systems, he recieved honors upon graduating (Cum Laude Award). I would like to take this opportunity to tell Jim how proud I am of him, for his hard work, efforts & his persistence to achieve his goals. Jim is residing in Fairhope, Al. He owns his own company and is planning to get married soon. Congratulations Jimmy & Harmony! Benjamin, age 18, is now a father of a beautiful little boy named Benjamin Jr. *S*. Ben decided not to get married. I was a little disappointed at first, but thought about it & agree. Having a child together isn't a good foundation for a marriage. He has a lot of responsibilities ahead of him, but I'm sure with our help & support everything will be fine. Ben enjoys playing Basketball & messing around with computers. Now his interests is doing things with his son. Benjamin joined the AirForce and resides in North Dakota. It takes some getting use to when your children move off from home. I've always wanted my family to be close for all of us to get together for holidays, etc. Benjamin doesn't come home as often as I'd like. We see him only once a year for about three weeks. He seems happy though and is doing what he likes, that's all that matters. Tabitha, has two precious boys now. Cameron and Braden are spoiled rotten. They both are so precious. Typical little boys too. Little Ricky, resides in Fairhope, Al. also. My baby all grown up and moved out. I miss him so much. Ricky is my sweet heart, I use to call him my WeeTonka (wee=he was so tiny, tonka=he loved playing with tonka trucks). I had this song I made up when he was a baby, I would sing it to him every night. He outgrew (needless to say) that a long time ago. But I still remember the lyrics. Sometimes I pick at him, & start singing it, he just blushes. Ricky Sr. still works for same Company here in Brewton. He is a hard working man, who provides well for his family. He doesn't take off & leave us anymore but he doesn't show me much attention, affection or communicate much with me. Guess this is what makes people different. We all have our own preferences, needs, interests, and wants. I will just have to learn how to live without mine being fullfilled. As for me, well I enjoy taking care of my family & giving them all of my love. I especially enjoy being a Grandma *S*. I can spoil them rotten and get away with it.
Do You ever ask yourself why things change so after you marry someone? Did you hear anywhere in your marriage vows, when you said them to each other, that your suppose to stop loving or stop showing affection towards your spouse? Why can't someone remain the same? Things are so much different when you date, its almost like (your spouse thinks) I got you now & I don't have to show you or treat you like this anymore, you should know that I love you because I married you. A favorite quote of mine "Don't kiss me like we're married, kiss me like we're LOVERS!"
Update: November 7, 1999
My marriage didn't work out, unfortunately. I guess I couldn't settle for less any longer. Divorcing someone you spent 18 years with isn't easy.
My children have grown up alot since this page has been last edited & I would like to
update on their behalf. I am very proud of each of them, and I like to brag occassionally. This allows me to do just that! *SMILE*
Update: November 14, 2006
Time you spend with your children are priceless. They all grow up so fast and before you know it they've moved out. I have no little ones under foot anymore. I have such beautiful memories of my family together, and will cherish them for the rest of my life.
Now I have precious Grandchildren, and I absolutely enjoy spending time with each of them.
I think I should change the Title of this page from "A Little
About Me" to "Alot About Me". Sorry if I have bored you with this
sometimes I get a little carried away, I talk too much. I guess if you
know me though you already know this. But what are autobiography's for?
I will end this autobiography of myself with a BIG SMILE!!
I hope each of you, have a wonderful day.
Thank You for visiting, please come again.
