About Me

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Life is love and laughter and tears all rolled into one, but with oh so many pages

About Me

The story of my life? Naw, it would most likely seem way too boring for anyone else to have to ponder over and try to get some luster and shine out of. So how about if I merely "lightly-buff" some of the little tid bits of info about who and what and where I am in life as it has unfolded for us all, and share some pics, to let you sort of browse over the highlights :D *smiling here*

HERE'S ME AND MY LITTLE WHISPERGIRL

2004'S TURKEY FESTIVAL IN CALIFORNIA, MO

Above is Diane, my Whisper Twigger Girl, whom I love and live with. I'd moved to California, Missouri from Springfield of the same state in September of 2003. We'd done the norm for the time and era and had met one another online. It wasn't neccessarily a long courtship, but defintiely full of love and laughter, with her coming down to Springfield on Friday nights almost every week, and staying till Sunday nights or Monday morning sometimes. In September, we mutually laughed, loved and agreed to life and shortened our seperation from one another, by my moving up in a Ryder truck and joining her in California here. Yes, there really "IS" a California, Missouri...just short of Jefferson City, the State's capitol.

I guess the easiest way to start out is at the start. Let's see, I'll skip pre-fetal stages, and pass up the first year or so of life sort of. But as we go on you can take a gander at all the baby pics (nope...no naked butts n' diaper changes).

THE DREW FIVE

DENNY, ME, NEVA, MOM AND DAD

I was born to Dennis A. and Dorothy E. (Cheek) Drew, in Joplin, Missouri in June of 1957. I was able to take Diane down around my old stomping grounds for New Years in January of 2005. I showed her special places like where I was born at the old Freemans Hospital, and where my Dad's ashes were poured off low water bridge. I showed her "Inspiration Point" too, where my Dad proposed to my Mom at in 1953. There was Grnad Falls under Shoal Creek and just the quiet of mother nature that I love so much. The natural environment wasn't at it's peak for that time of year, but its surely the Ozarks no matter what.

Our original family of five included three kids, my mom and my dad. There was me, Denny my older brother by two years and then there was Deneva (Neva for short) younger by two years. My Dad was still enlisted in the Air Force at that time. and stayed in the service till a medical discharge after 17 years of duty. For now though I will run through a short story of life, loves and hardships to explain how I grew up and where.

A FIRST HAIRCUT IS ALWAYS GOOD FOR OPENERS EH?

1958 WOULD BE MY BEST GUESS FOR THIS OBVIOUS EAR BUSTIN' MOMENT

Life itself was probably as normal as any other family, considering. Dad was typical for a USAF tech srgt, and unfortunately mom became the religious matron after 'discovering' the Jehovah's Witness form of christianity. The fanaticsm involved with that 'sect' of the religion created far too much of a dominatingly monitored life, caused frustration and conflict, and fell far short of bringing the love, balance and harmony that the Christian faith originally was designed to encourage and mold family life into. I don't mean to sound bitter, for life is never ALWAYS bitter, but then too my thoughts hold alot of bitter memories because of all that.

However, don't let me paint a picture that makes it all seem full of woahs and wails, and nothing but lack of love and harmony. My father was a fantastic provider though often overly strict, and I've some pictures not only here upon these pages, but also in my head, that prove far too full of love and family values for me to make it seem nothing more than a pitifully dysfunctional life. So let me share some of the more meaningful moments.

AND THERE'S NOTHING LIKE DAD AND THE 'BOYS' ...

GONE FISHING...THAT'S GRANDPA CHEEK AND MOSIER IN THE BACK

There's always way too fond of memories back there in the alleyways of my brain for life to seem full of nothing but sorrow. Here to the right you can see us lined up after one of our numerous fishing journeys. No telling if we had gone to Lake Leatherwood in Arkansas, or Twin Bridges in Grove Oklahoma. Actually, back then when I was younger and the days were good, our lives were filled with summer trips back from California (the state) for vacations back home with the grandfolks and family. This was the life when it came to meeting back up for the summers now in my past.

I can't help but smile when these fondest of memories come flooding back into my mind. The sights, sounds and smells are still amazingly fresh, of lake water lapping against the side of the jon boat, and pleasantly mixed smells of fish and old men, laughter at moments with excited guffaws the next, waifts of Sir Walter Raliegh lit in grandfather pipes, and slightly slurred exclamations of fish size passing by an old Camel cigarette. Overly tired children asleep amix snores of wore out parents, awakened excitement the next morning as a new day dawned with pancakes still cooking, and coffee fresh brewed, tennis shoes throwned hastily on followed with the sharp rap of slamming green wooden screen doors as small feet scuffled across gravel parkways, with sighs of moms and grandmas as realizations of another day coming freshened on the brain. Yes, life has been more than good at times.