My parents met when they were on a mission for the Mormons. My Dad was from Salt Lake City, a city boy, and my Mom was from north of there, Layton, Utah and was a country girl. Well Mormons have this weird idea that spirits are just floating around out there, somewhere, and that when you have kids, then these spirits get to come to earth to pass some kind of test and if you're good you go back to Heaven to hang with God, or Heavenly Father as they call him, and if you fuck up then you wind up down in a lower kingdom of some sort. So Dick, my father's nickname, and Geneve started having a bunch of kids. There was me then Elizabeth, Robert, Mark, Karine, Kathryn, John & Burke. Now there are just six of us, my sisters Karine and Kathryn are dead and so are my parents. Elizabeth, Robert and Mark are true believers, they still hang with the Mormons, are self righteous, holier than thou, and really just not very nice people, very judgmental. I get along great with John & Burke so that's all good. We'd get together when my Mom was still alive, she died in 2010 at the age of 88, but now I really don't see any reason to get together except with my brothers, John & Burke.
What I remember of my father is him taking off his belt and whipping me for something I'd done. One time he slugged me in the mouth and knocked me to the ground. That was his idea of discipline. He raised rabbits to eat. I remember him cutting of the head of a chicken when I was about 7 or 8 years old. Well if you don't cherish life and protect life then you have a short life. He was killed in a car accident when he was 52 years old in 1978, along with my sister Kathryn, who he was driving to Salt Lake because she was ill and he was taking her to see doctors up there. I've now lived 10 years longer than he, so we'll see !! My Mom lived a long life. She was simple and good. Always had her faith in her Church but was very accepting, and although it was hard, I know she really respected my path (Buddhism) and knew it was the right one for me. She once told me that she wished people in her Church practiced their religion as diligently as I practiced mine. When I moved back to Kanab in the early 90's and lived with her, she would see me get up and meditate everyday before I went to work at the Kanab Fitness Center that I owned. And that is still my routine to this day. I get up and sit before I go to work to calm my mind and just be present.
What I remember of my father is him taking off his belt and whipping me for something I'd done. One time he slugged me in the mouth and knocked me to the ground. That was his idea of discipline. He raised rabbits to eat. I remember him cutting of the head of a chicken when I was about 7 or 8 years old. Well if you don't cherish life and protect life then you have a short life. He was killed in a car accident when he was 52 years old in 1978, along with my sister Kathryn, who he was driving to Salt Lake because she was ill and he was taking her to see doctors up there. I've now lived 10 years longer than he, so we'll see !! My Mom lived a long life. She was simple and good. Always had her faith in her Church but was very accepting, and although it was hard, I know she really respected my path (Buddhism) and knew it was the right one for me. She once told me that she wished people in her Church practiced their religion as diligently as I practiced mine. When I moved back to Kanab in the early 90's and lived with her, she would see me get up and meditate everyday before I went to work at the Kanab Fitness Center that I owned. And that is still my routine to this day. I get up and sit before I go to work to calm my mind and just be present.