Family

So I had a sister who was my, my parents biological. She grew up wanting to figure skate. She was four years older than I was. She moved out to a place called Padwa Academy. A woman named Vaughn looked after her. She wanted to have a figure skating career. And my parents had heavily invested in that. But she moved out the first chance that she got so I didn’t grow up with her as a teenager per se. She was quick to move out and go do what it is that she wanted to do.

But I remember years later, she was sharing with me. You know, we actually grew up with foster kids for a short period of time. Christy and Joey and then they disappeared when TMI happened, and that was the Three Mile Island accident, where there was an evacuation and we were evacuated. So my sister told me once that my parents murdered Christie and Joey and disposes of during TMI, and she really believed that and my father denied it. My mother denied it. My mother also denied that my sister could ever think that my father actually went to the trouble of finding Christie. And Joey. Because that was a foster care situation that just didn’t work out.

For whatever purpose. I’ve worked with enough kids to know that you don’t always get a good match. I don’t blame my parents and I don’t blame Christine. Joey. Sometimes it’s just not a good match. But my sister was insistent that I wouldn’t let my mom say, Hey, your brother said this. But eventually my my sister shared it with my mom and my mother was horrified. But my sister believed that she believed that my mother and my father murdered Christie and Joey. They had the funeral home, they could dispose of the bodies and they did district TMI, and I just thought that was nuts. And I didn’t want to deal with any of that anymore.

She planted a tree in her yard for Christie because she was like a Catholic which some witchcraft Wicca some Catholicism, I suppose like in the Philippines, there’s a fusion between witchcraft and Catholicism and, you know, New Orleans, I think the same type of thing happens but my sister believed that my father always thought it was crazy and my mother was just hurt. I think my mother was hurt over the whole thing, but that’s another strange thing that had to grow up with.

I was told the Child Services came once that I was coached on what to say and I don’t remember but as a young kid, you don’t remember if you were coached and saying anything. I do remember that my mom freaked out after the Adam Walsh movie aired. John Walsh America’s Most Wanted you know, to the point where we had code words, and I have actually implemented that with my kids today with AI and all the current threats, you know, being able to fake a relative’s voice just based on a couple sound samples. It is important and I made sure and this is a tip to anybody. I made sure not to put it in email. I had a conversation with my daughter. And she had to pick a word and then I gave her a word. And that was that nothing in text, nothing an email, just we know.

So that if a request comes in, like hey, I’m in jail, and I need money to get out and say which secret work and secret word isn’t for something simple like I need $5 for gas or I need $20 For my phone bill or even I need $100 for this, but more like I need 5000 wired to me I’m in Europe, that kind of thing. And that came, at least for me that came out of the John Walsh here in the 1980s. With that, that movie, I think it was Daniel Trevino and JoBeth Williams so it’s amazing. I still have like this movie trivia stuff. In my head. But yeah, it was bizarre. It was bizarre.

She passed away after a struggle addiction with alcoholism. My parents found bottles inside the home. They helped her buy two homes and they had to empty one out because one was in their names and they found all kinds of bottles. I did take my daughter to meet my sister. So this is the one and only time you’re going to meet your aunt.

It was also an opportunity for my mother and my father. Together to spend time with my daughter. I also took advantage of the opportunity to have my mother and my father in a picture with me. I remember I was in Santa Monica working with the homeless. It was one in the morning or So California time and I just had a meltdown. Realize that a lot of the pain that I felt came from the divorce like when they got divorced. I always thought my father was gay and nearly Sunlife he always said he was living on borrowed time, living on borrowed time, and I always thought that he was doing what was best for him.

But I realized later in life, how much it hurt. That was when the world was became a not safe place. It was very hurtful. He walked out on us. Just like you know, African American black fathers walk out on their families. Only my dad left the country because he could instead of just moving you know moving in with the woman that he has the affair with down the street. This was a completely different continent, completely different country. And I realized there was a lot of pain there. I realized that was when my world was destroyed and I was in tears that night.

And I swore that we were going to do one picture together and that was going to feel safe again, if only for five or 10 minutes. Because I think that’s what I was after I wanted my parents back I needed my parents back. And my sister dying, unfortunately was the only opportunity that they would both be in the same room at the same time. cooperating.

I did ask them that’s one point both of them separately, would you do a picture and they said sure. So we might have to meet halfway somewhere like Washington DC or something that’s convenient for everybody and everybody agreed. But when we’re at the hospital as my sister was dying, you know, an opportunity is an opportunity. And we did the picture and you know, my mother said I knew you were gonna ask.

And that was the last time that they would ever we would all be together in one room because I could make it to my sister’s funeral I zoomed in or did FaceTime or something like that to FaceTime. That’s what I did. I was at CMA fest working but I FaceTimed in. I sent my lines in and the preacher spoke my lines for me. My father was there my mother was there, I was not there. So the hospital was the last time that we were all there