In the Beginning GOD said, "Let there be Garry". Thus, I was born in St. Mary's Hospital in Kansas City,
Missouri on June 13, 1948 B.C. (before cell phones). I was one of two twins. That's because twins usually come in pairs. Also,
the hospital was running a two for one special at the time and my mother was always looking out for bargains. At first, the doctor told my mother she was going to have a big girl, but a boy baby showed up instead.
They were only prepared for one baby, but 4 minutes later, my brother made a special guest appearance. Then it was, "Whoa,
where'd he come from!"
I was born of English, Irish, Scottish, German, Dutch & Cherokee heritage. This has never caused me
any problems. However, there are times when I get the urge to put on a pair of "Jack" boots, paint a Shamrock on my face,
play the bagpipes and attack a wagon train. Then, come back for a spot of tea and some Edam cheese. I've had members
on both sides of the family who have been researching family history. It's amazing to find out the people who you are related
to. The Wright brothers, Jimmy Stewart, Lucille Ball, C&W singer Steve Wariner, President Zachary Taylor, both President
Bushes, and possibly President Andrew Jackson are in my family tree. I can even trace my ancestry to a Queen of England
in the 1400's. No wonder I'm so good-looking and intelligent. It runs in the family. True, they're just distant relatives
and a lot of them by marriage; but, they're still hanging on one of the family tree limbs. One famous relative,
who is directly descended to my mother's side of the family and not by marriage, is Caleb Hazel, who was Abraham Lincoln's
second teacher. Another famous relative is Arthur "Monk" Hazel, a famous jazz drummer who also played the Conn Victor
cornet and a mellophone. He played with notable jazz musicians Al Hirt and Pete Fountain before they became famous. I'm
also related to a member of German Royalty who is mentioned in the Bible. What! You've never heard of Baron Fig
Tree!? This has been a while back, but somebody once did some research and said that everybody in America was a 6th cousin
and everybody in the World were 33rd cousins. This makes sense, since we are all descended from one of the 3 sons of Noah.
I can remember as far back as 5 years of age. Before that, I really can't remember anything. Let's face
it. Who wants to remember being potty-trained anyway! Wouldn't it be nice if a baby would arrive already trained to use a
toilet. All you'd have to do is just give him the Sunday sports section and show him where the bathroom was.
I started life out as a kid. Well, I had no choice. When you're born, you don't have any job skills to
put on your resume, you don't have a driver's license and you're too young to run for President. So, the best thing to do
is just enjoy your childhood, because sooner or later, kids do grow up.
I'm single and have never married. I neither love nor hate being single. If I do get married, I would
prefer to have children. I never dated in high school because I was taught to put your education first and girls second. I've
never dated much. I don't hold a person's past against them. However, I have had problems with women who said they were available
and it turned out they were still married. I dropped them like the proverbial hot potato. Most girls I dated were good, though.
Excuse me for bragging, but just like Barney Fife, I once went out with a Registered Nurse. I remember one time a girl I was
dating complained that I never took her anywhere. So, I took her out and bought her a hamburger. My philosophy has been not
to spend too much money on a date, rather save it for my wife if I got married. I never could see spending a lot of money
on a girl who you might not ever see again. Look, I've known of some women whose idea of going Dutch was to have breakfast
in Amsterdam. At the present I work at home selling collectibles on the Internet and occasionally I work on old radios and
other older electronic equipment. I never kept up with the incredible changes made in electronics, especially computers. When
I went to electronics school we studied extinct things such as the Woolly Vacuum Tube, the Diodesaurus and the Transistordactyl.
I currently live on 3 1/3 acres of property with two houses. One is my parents' house,
which I inherited and the other is mine, which I helped build. There is also a large barn/shed. Everything in the buildings
and on the property is paid for. Except for normal living expenses, I am debt free and have no intention of drowning
in doubt trying to live a rich life style. Not that it is necessary due to the fact that I've taken an early retirement. It
will be nice to get a Social Security check every month. Hey, it's my money they stole out of my paycheck every week!
I've been in the Ozarks close to 35 years and things are going okay. I live in Verona, Missouri.
It's got about 500 or so people. We also have a bunch of horses, cows, mules and the usual cats and dogs. We have a combination
city hall, fire and police station, a police car, fire vehicles, convenience store, Mexican restaurant, printing shop, car
wash, schools, a few churches and a park complete with cannon. Small towns are peaceful, but they do have problems. For example,
we had to close down the town zoo because the goldfish died. If that wasn't bad enough, we had to close down the town library.
Well, the guy who borrowed the book didn't bring it back.
My father and mother were always there for me. Much to my shame, I can't say I was always there for them.
Since I've gotten older and wiser, I'm determined that I am going to be there for them, always. The Bible says that as
our parents took care of us when we were young, when we become adults, we should take care of our aging parents.
My father passed away in December of 2002. I put my life on hold for the 5 years that he was on dialysis.
My mother died July 26, 2012. Until their deaths, I tried to be a good son. Several times I've gotten up at midnight
to take parents to the Emergency Room. I stayed in their spare bedroom as I wanted to be available at all times.
Also, it saved me utilities on my house. I don't believe in shipping parents off to nursing homes or hospices where the only
thing they have to look forward to is a depressing death. Not to mention the fact that they'd lose the homes they worked hard
for all their lives in order to pay expenses. Lest anyone thinks I ever sponged off my parents, I've done electrical, plumbing,
lawn care and other things that would have cost my parents thousands of dollars a year. Of course, if mothers received compensation
for cooking, cleaning and nursing etc., they'd be millionaires.
All my adult life, I have been trying to come up with something that would make a lot of money. Since
once a turtle gets on his back, he can't flip over again, I thought about making roll bars for turtles. All any turtle had
to do was just go to his nearest auto parts store. But, that idea fizzled because turtles don't have any money. That's a shame,
because if the idea had of worked out, I could have sold them racing stripes for their shells.
I have made a short biography of my life. I have mentioned a lot of people's names in order to give them
their moment in the spotlight and also to prove who I am. I have been the victim of identity theft. From time to time I will
be adding memories and photos as I dig them up. I'd like to add, that if anyone thinks I make stuff up, I can back up
most of what I say. I say "most", because witnesses don't live forever and evidence does get lost or destroyed over a period
of years. Also, a lot of people could care less anyway as to what happened and what didn't happen. I've tried to make it pleasant
reading in the hopes that it might bring back happy memories to all.
Here's hoping that all of you who attended Northeast High School are having your lives go well.
Your Classmate always,
GARRY DASHNER
For a summarized biography of my life, click on the link below and the subsequent links. My life
has been over 60 years in the making and it will take a while to remember stuff.
