This iReport is part of an assignment:
iReport for CNN
About this iReport
 |
Posted March 11, 2010
by
|
Location
Easley, South Carolina
Easley, South Carolina
Assignment
 |
More from fallout
- "DON'T TREAD ON ME" - LET THOSE IN WASHINGTON KNOW THAT "THE SLEEPER HAS AWAKEN!!!"
- "HOW MANY HAVE TO DIE TO REMEMBER WHO KEEPS KILLING JEWS?!!!"
- COME AND JOIN US ON FACEBOOK - BECOME A GROUP MEMBER OF "JON VOIGHT FOR PRESIDENT 2012"
- "WE NEED TO CLEAN UP WASHINGTON BY MOVING TO TERM LIMITS FOR ALL POLITICIANS"
- "WHY I BELIEVE JON VOIGHT SHOULD BE OUR NEXT PRESIDENT"
More iReports you should see
I chose to remember all the good things
- I wrote the following to a member of my extended family, whom also hates Clinton, IA like I use to. I copied this bit of my life I told to him and placed it here. Maybe because it feels good to let the past go and get on with the present. I took out names of other people and relatives because it's not my right to tell their stories. So here it goes, told in a short form and without going into great detail...
I remember my dad moved us back to his home town of Clinton, IA when my mother had a nervous breakdown, I was 12. He was a minister so we had lived in a lot of places all over the US. Never really had a real home town ever. All three of us kids were born in different states and it was just the way it was for us. I remembering saying to myself, "I will never live in Clinton Iowa ever again, let alone Iowa." It was a tough seven years we spent there. But that time was, I guess, was a necessary evil. I thought so because that time was tough on me and my brothers.
When my mother had a nervous breakdown my Dad had to resign as minister at the Church of Christ in Marshall, Arkansas. I was 12 then. Well, my dad moved us all to his home town of Clinton, IA. With no job at the moment we were living off of my dad's life long savings. We at first stayed in a hotel.
As the days went by my mother's illness became much worse and she had to be hospitalized. With all the stress my Dad, also found that he had health issues of his own with a rotatter cuff surgery and high blood pressure; so he too ended up in the hospital. Us three kids were split up amongst the relatives during that time. Tim and I went to Uncle Bob and Aunt Alice's house; while Christian went to Uncle Al and Aunt Cookies' house. It was very dramatic for us kids - each of us were born five years apart with me being the oldest. But to get to the point, it was my Uncle Bob & Aunt Alice who took care of us for almost a year while both my dad and mom were in the hospital.
My Uncle Bob is a man of few words, a very quiet man. But it was he that made a deep impact on my life. He didn't have to say much to know that he really truly cared about my brother Tim and myself. He would take us down to the Dairy Queen, where my Aunt Alice worked, and buy us an ice cream cone. He treated me like I was one of his own sons. Actually, just writing this stuff is bringing tears to my eyes. That is why he is so important to me.
We spent seven years in Clinton while trying to get mom's mental health back on track and my dad's health to improve. Us boys were reunited with my mom and dad after almost a year. All that time my Dad never stopped being a minister. He had Wednesday night Bible studies at our home and brought many people to Christ during that time , he also took over the music ministry at his home church - the Clinton Church of Christ (an instrumental church in our fellowship). He also had started a new job teaming up with my Uncle Dick in starting a Christian Bookstore with a restaurant. This he ran for 5 years. He didn't have great health during that time and my mom went in and out of the mental ward.
All that time I got involved in things I should have known better than to - but I was so depressed with our situation as a family. We were on some welfare and most of my clothes were bought at the Salvation Army. We lived in many different places in Clinton through those several years - each time moving up to a better place to live. I hated Clinton! I rebelled a lot with my parents, my grades dropped and I experimented with drugs and whatnot.
Well, anyway, I got in a lot of trouble while living in Clinton - especially in my life. But it was also where I met my two best friends in the whole world. We still keep in touch and even get together now and then. And it was also where I came to learn a lot of lessons in life. I was wrong about Clinton, IA. You see, you are still you no matter where you live. You can change the things you can and learn to except the things you cannot change. I know it's not easy to understand these things now - but you learn them over time.
I did find myself back in Iowa from 1998 - 2007 in a place called Keosauqua in southeast Iowa. And I have to say it was one of the best places I ever lived. Weird how Iowa always calls it's own back every now and then. It wasn't Clinton but it was Iowa.
Now I live here in Easley, SC and loving it. I do hope you find whatever you are looking for. There are many reasons that the people, places, and situations can make one upset about the town they live in. But, take or leave it from me, it's not where you live but how you live your life. Enjoy every moment you can. I could have gone into greater detail about the bad things our family went through in my teen years - but they are things I still deal with, even today. A lot of your relatives could tell you stories about the ups and downs that my family and I went through there in Clinton.
If I had my choice, and I do. I chose to remember all the good things Clinton meant to me - it doesn't erase all the bad, but it helps me to deal with it. Besides, and this is the most important thing about my life in Clinton, it is where I came to know God and my purpose in life. If it were not for that very thing I don't think you would have even heard of me or from me. I think I might have let myself go and maybe have even been dead by now. My two best friends saved me from myself and God save me for myself worth.
Well, that's my story about how I so hated Clinton then - but like they say, "time can heal all wounds..."
Now I live here in Easley, SC and loving it. I do hope you find whatever you are looking for. There are many reasons that the people, places, and situations can make one upset about the town they live in. But, take or leave it from me, it's not where you live but how you live your life. Enjoy every moment you can. I could have gone into greater detail about the bad things our family went through in my teen years - but they are things I still deal with, even today. A lot of your relatives could tell you stories about the ups and downs that my family and I went through there in Clinton.
If I had my choice, and I do. I chose to remember all the good things Clinton meant to me - it doesn't erase all the bad, but it helps me to deal with it. Besides, and this is the most important thing about my life in Clinton, it is where I came to know God and my purpose in life. If it were not for that very thing I don't think you would have even heard of me or from me. I think I might have let myself go and maybe have even been dead by now. My two best friends saved me from myself and God save me for myself worth.
Well, that's my story about how I so hated Clinton then - but like they say, "time can heal all wounds..."
- TAGS:
- ireport_for_cnn_lessons,
- learned
- GROUPS:
What do you think of this story?
Select one of the options below. Your feedback will help tell CNN producers what to do with this iReport. If you'd like, you can explain your choice in the comments below.
Be and editor! Choose an option below:
More from this assignment - iReport for CNN
Comments
iReport welcomes a lively discussion, so comments on iReports are not pre-screened before they post. See the iReport community guidelines for details about content that is not welcome on iReport.
© 2011 Cable News Network. 
