My About page is probably one of the longest you'll see of any blogs that you encounter. It contains of lot of my personal history, but it isn't in full detail. Most people wouldn't want to read more than that in one sitting. Since I have absolutely nothing to hide, I figured I'd get into my autobiography to the best of my recollection. Perhaps when I become President of the United States someday, it can be used by the opposition parties for campaign fodder. Perhaps I'll die a hero or a celebrity of some sort and this will be good information for posterity purposes. Who knows?

I was born at the Hoemako Hospital in Casa Grande, Arizona, USA, on November 28, 1960. The hospital has been closed for some time now, replaced by the Casa Grande Regional Medical Center in the 80s. I don't remember this, but my mother told me we lived on Dewey Avenue in Coolidge, Arizona, USA, until I was at least 3 years of age. My younger brother was 1 year old. The family moved to Palo Verde Avenue in Coolidge in 1964, after my parents bought the house from one of my uncles. The payments were in the neighborhood of $50 per month. The house had 4 bedrooms but only 1 bathroom. Imagine how hard that was with 5 boys and 4 girls living in the same house. My, how times change. The population as of the 1960 U.S. Census was 4,990 people (by 2000, the population had only increased to 7,786). It's hard to believe how little it grew, considering it was only 70 miles from the largest city in the state with a population in the millions — the Phoenix metropolitan area). My parents live in that same house today, a house that was completed in the 50s — made primarily of adobe brick and wood.

My family lived in that house from sometime in 1964 through February of 1974. I remember very little of my elementary school years. I was in the 8th grade (called junior high at that time but it's called middle school now) when we moved again. I remember a teacher named Mrs. Goodwin in the 4th grade and the children that lived on South Main Street by the names of Bennie, Jerry, and Thea. Their parents' names were Ben and Jeri. Go figure. I remember a girl I had a crush on in junior high by the name of Melanie Collier. I remember classmates by the name of Terry Reed (male), Alvin and Wesley Moore (brothers), David Arredondo, James Higginbotham, something Saucedo, Kelly Taft (female) and, of course, Melanie Collier. Hey! I was only 13 years old when we moved to Hawaii in 1974. Do you expect me to remember everyone?

As I sit here and write this, I suddenly feel old and I'm only 46. The school I went to in the 3rd grade was torn down and replaced by a civic center. The police station that housed the city police, and the Arizona Highway Patrol officers that were stationed there, was moved from Central Avenue to Palo Verde Avenue (the same street my parents live on) and Arizona Boulevard (State Highway 87). Huge new tracts of homes have been built and more people are finally starting to move into the city.

I'll continue the story tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some early pictures of me. Don't laugh. Bow ties were popular in the 60s:

Blog Appreciation:

Hermie at One Day at a Time has an interesting family-oriented blog. He always includes tons of pictures with every story. Hermie and his family live in the Philippines. Visit his blog when you get the chance.