My Life Story (Early Childhood)
Some of my earliest memories were from this period. Mom had divorced dad and moved us in with grandma (for the third time). You could say that my infancy was spent moving back and forth from base to base!
Early Childhood
After we moved back to Tucson, I must have spent some time with my aunt, uncle, and cousins (as well as the rest of the family). My aunt Shirley, on my father's side, is a no-nonsense kind of woman -- one who can speak with the driest, most sarcastic tongue I've ever heard. She's the kind of woman who will love you to pieces one moment, and tell you when you're getting out of line the next. My uncle Frank, on the other hand, is one of the sweetest, most gentle souls you can imagine. I have never heard him raise his voice or get impatient. They had two kids: Dale and Terry. Dale was a very bright, kind, and caring man. He passed away in 2005 from cancer of the pancreas. He was always willing to run errands or just listen to what you had to say. Terry was and is a very shrewd, motivated, and determined woman. I think she inherited Shirley's tongue.
The kids and I must have been constant playmates due to our proximity and comparable age ranges (they were about 1 or 2 years older than I). They lived in a house that was very similar to my grandmother on my father's side, except they had extended the house in the back to create a den. I remember going to both houses and being confused as to why one of them had the den and the other didn't. It's funny, but I actually remember thinking "where's the den?" when I visited my grandmother's house.
Sometime around August or September 1966, mom met my stepfather, Larry. He had enlisted in the Air Force a fews years earlier and was stationed, at the time, in Tucson. They met at a party, but really didn't "click" until a bit later. He was 22 and mom was 21. They were married in April 1967 in what was a very modest ceremony. One of my first memories of Larry was of him walking, with a bounce in his step, towards the car where mom and I were waiting. He would be coming off of a shift with his uniform slung over a shoulder and he would be smiling and waving to me. I always remembered how happy I was to see him.
After mom and Larry were married, we moved to a little house on Santa Barbara street. Here's an interesting side note: they say that most drag queens (not that I am one!) use the first pet and the street they grew up on as their stage name. With that in mind, mine would be "Princess Santa Barbara". Funny, huh? Anyway, I remember, quite vividly, the above-ground pool and swing set in the back yard. Apparently, I had no reservations about swinging as high as the thing would let me. This worried our next door neighbor, who thought I was going to destroy it or launch into orbit.
More to come...
Early Childhood
After we moved back to Tucson, I must have spent some time with my aunt, uncle, and cousins (as well as the rest of the family). My aunt Shirley, on my father's side, is a no-nonsense kind of woman -- one who can speak with the driest, most sarcastic tongue I've ever heard. She's the kind of woman who will love you to pieces one moment, and tell you when you're getting out of line the next. My uncle Frank, on the other hand, is one of the sweetest, most gentle souls you can imagine. I have never heard him raise his voice or get impatient. They had two kids: Dale and Terry. Dale was a very bright, kind, and caring man. He passed away in 2005 from cancer of the pancreas. He was always willing to run errands or just listen to what you had to say. Terry was and is a very shrewd, motivated, and determined woman. I think she inherited Shirley's tongue.
The kids and I must have been constant playmates due to our proximity and comparable age ranges (they were about 1 or 2 years older than I). They lived in a house that was very similar to my grandmother on my father's side, except they had extended the house in the back to create a den. I remember going to both houses and being confused as to why one of them had the den and the other didn't. It's funny, but I actually remember thinking "where's the den?" when I visited my grandmother's house.
Sometime around August or September 1966, mom met my stepfather, Larry. He had enlisted in the Air Force a fews years earlier and was stationed, at the time, in Tucson. They met at a party, but really didn't "click" until a bit later. He was 22 and mom was 21. They were married in April 1967 in what was a very modest ceremony. One of my first memories of Larry was of him walking, with a bounce in his step, towards the car where mom and I were waiting. He would be coming off of a shift with his uniform slung over a shoulder and he would be smiling and waving to me. I always remembered how happy I was to see him.
After mom and Larry were married, we moved to a little house on Santa Barbara street. Here's an interesting side note: they say that most drag queens (not that I am one!) use the first pet and the street they grew up on as their stage name. With that in mind, mine would be "Princess Santa Barbara". Funny, huh? Anyway, I remember, quite vividly, the above-ground pool and swing set in the back yard. Apparently, I had no reservations about swinging as high as the thing would let me. This worried our next door neighbor, who thought I was going to destroy it or launch into orbit.
More to come...