I was a happy kid, oldest of five. Closeknit family. Good mother , but stressed. My dad was strict but very loving. I loved to read, color in coloring books, play with plastic army men outside with brother. I played football on an elementary school, fifth grade team. Played little league and pony league baseball, was a pitcher. Did real good in school and had puppy love girlfriends
I fell hard on my head twice in school. Real hard. I always wondered if that had any bearing on my behavior. I started fishing as a kid and that became my passion for many years. My Dad moved us from Savannah, Ga. to a small country town when I was thirteen. That's when things changed with me. I became withdrawn in school and basically didn't talk to anybody. In the tenth grade I had a manic episode where I started talking to people. It started getting a little out of hand and then I plunged into a very bad depression that ended me up in a mental health hospital, the first of many times. I was fourteen years old. I was diagnosed as a very depressed boy. Looking back, I can see where it was the beginning of bipolar behavior.