But Then What Happened?

After Bill made his way back to California, my contact with him diminished greatly over the next five years or so. I do remember a trip I made to California in 1971, when I was 12. A memorable event from that visit was an impromptu driving lesson with Bill as my instructor. There were two elements that made this a really bad idea... 1) I was 12, 2) We were in Cali-freaking-fornia! Bill pulled into an abandoned gas station and we switched positions in his car. Following his instructions, I pressed on the brake and gently pulled the shifter on the steering wheel to the drive position. I eased forward toward the highway, put on the brakes and took a deep breath. The highway had a center divider with grass and some small trees. I couldn't cross over the divider and that left me with only one option and that was to turn right out of the gas station. The only problem is that I really wasn't aware of which side of the street we were supposed to drive on. I thought it varied state by s...

My Final Text String With Bill How do I adequately describe my brother, Bill... the man that had the most profound impact on my life;  the man who let a long haired, pot smoking, confused, rebellious16 year-old move into he and his new wife's tiny, cramped apartment;  the man whose influence helped vastly change the trajectory of my life? I guess it's best to start from the beginning. Born on March 14th, 1952, Bill was child number 4 in the Munson household and he would be the final piece to the family puzzle created by Virgil and Verna Munson. Or so they thought... almost seven years later, the real baby of the family would be born. That baby was me. "The "oops baby." The 5 Munson Siblings All five Munson kids were born in Iowa but in October of 1959, like many other families from the Midwest, our dad moved us to Southern California in search of a new beginning in the Golden State. I was only 9 months old at the time of the move, so my life's earliest memori...