Oh No! Not Another Brat!

In 1956, at age 14, Don ran away from home with his younger brother after a one-way argument with his father. “I don’t give a damn if you want to finish watching your program!” Bring the boats in now!” After years of abuse, neglect and a family with no love, this incident broke the camel’s back. The next day, Don stole $35 from his father’s drawer before telling his mom of his runaway plans. “Oh, yeah?” she replied in her usual lackadaisical way, and then continued on with her sewing. The plan was to ride their bikes from Illinois to Florida, unbeknownst to them, a pedophile killer lurked the streets of Chicago. At 18, Don found an escape – he dropped out of school to join the Navy, where he met many other challenges. He was first stationed in Hawaii, right after it had become a state, and was attacked by a huge, crazed Samoan man, who may not have been fond about the US military being in his homeland! Several years later he got into a major argument with his wife and took off with the family car. He was going to Hollywood, California to find his sister, even though he didn’t know her last name, or where she lived. A miracle occurred when he got there. Now at age eighty, the author is going through his toughest challenge: caring for his wife of sixty-one years, who is struggling with the last stages of dementia and under hospice care. Join the author as he looks back at the obstacles he’s overcome and the lessons he’s learned along the way in Oh No! Not Another Brat!