Hi! Welcome to the page that tells all about me! I gave a little info about myself on the first page, but here you will find anything you ever wanted to know! :o) Everything from stories about my childhood (which can get graphic) :) to stories about my friends are located on this page.
The special day and time this story begins is Friday, June 6, 1980 at 2:38 PM. I finally made my entrance into this world (2 weeks late I might add)via C-section. I would go into more detail about why I was born at 2:38 PM instead of somewhere around 10 AM, but I think my mom is still a bit fired up over the whole fact that my dad drove her to the ER, dropped her off, and went back to work Ü. My parents are Dr. Merrill & Mrs. Jane Jones. They were married Labor Day weekend in 1970, but thought they could never have kids. Well, someone was wrong because I showed up somehow, and we ALL know I am not adopted! :o) Anyways, three long days later, me and my mom got to leave Jackson Hospital in Marianna, FL and return to our hometown of Chattahoochee, FL.
My time as an infant was pretty much uneventful for the most part. The only excitement I had was in October of 1980. My parents' house they had been building for months was finally finished! So, we packed up and left Chattahoochee and moved to Sneads, FL. This is the house I grew up in, and my parents still live there to this day. They built this place with the idea of having more kids (I assume). However, my parents were 34 and 37 when I was born and my mom always told me that once she recovered from having me,I was already about 2 years old. By this time she had already discovered I was a handful, and there was NO WAY she was taking the chance of having another one like me! hehe! So, as a result of my childhood demeanor, I grew up an only child. I should have had an idea that there would be no more kids coming along after my first christmas. Sure, I got all the pretty dolls and "girly" toys, but I also got a football. I am probably the only baby girl who got such a gift for her first christmas. Ü My daddy knew he would never have a son, so I got to be his "little tomboy".
The rest of my preschool days passed rather quickly. The only major event during this period was me having to be rushed to the Emergency Room at Jackson Hospital in 1983. As much as my daddy was convinced I was going to be scared for life, I survived pretty much unharmed. My parents were fixing up their rental house there in town and brought me along as well. As all little kids do, I got bored and began to get into things. I was outside in the yard and the last tenants had put up the bottom half of an old door to the the gate to their dog pen on the side of the house. Well, I was running around and was not watching where I was going. Right as I approached the door I turned to look ahead of me just in time to run face-first into the door. There happened to be a rusty nail sticking out right beside the door knob. Because I was so tiny at the time, it missed my eye and made a deep cut in between my eyelid and my eyebrow. I was ok until I saw the blood gushing everywhere, then I got really scared! My parents came to see why I was screaming to the top of my lungs and by that time I was covered from head to toe in blood. Being the neurotic that my daddy is, he freaked out! However, my mama remained calm, put me AND daddy in the car and drove to the ER. The doctor on duty that night happened to be my regular family doctor. He had got called in to work the ER that night and I was so glad to see him! That feeling of releif was short-lived though. Almost immediately after I made it to the hospital I was placed in one of those papoose things to immobilize me completely so they could sew up my wound. Well, anyone that knows me very well knows I am claustriphobic (not sure how to spell that) and I absolutely cannot stand to have my arms held down where I cannot move! The people in that emergency room learned this too after about, oh 2 minutes. That is the amonut of time it took me to completely destroy that contraption they had me bound in. The had only got as far as giving me a local anesthetic when i busted it open. Due to me freaking out, my mama had to hold me while they sewed up my head. This was the hard part everyone thought. Oh no, they were wrong. Two weeks later when i had to go to get my seven stitches removed, my mama, my grandma, the doctor and 2 nurses had to chase me around that office. The pain of them being put in my head was still too fresh and I thought taking them out was going to be just as bad. After a few minutes a nurse and my grandma cornered me and my stitches got removed, not without a bribe from my grandma of course! Within 2 short years after this incident, it was time for me to start school.
Finally, (mercifully as my mama says) in the fall of 1985, I started to kindergarten. I went to school all my elementary years at Sneads Elementary. At first I hated school. I did not want to leave my mama and I had no friends. However, by the second day of school, that had allllll changed! I began to recognize some familiar faces of some kids that had went to Vacation Bible School a few weeks before school started. Those faces belonged to Amanda S. and Candy S.. I remembered Amanda because her granny was the preacher at one of the local churches. I also remembered her because we had the same name and always got mixed up at the church. I had met Candy about 2 weeks before school started. She and her family had just moved to the area because her dad got transferred with his job. He went to work with my daddy and there was a big welcoming party for him the weekend before school started at a local nature park. At first our parents tried to get us to play together but I would have nothing to do with her. Shortly, when they went about their business, we began talking and played together that entire day! So, now that I had me some buddies in kindergarten, I knew that it wasn't going to be so bad. What I never imagined was that me, Candy, and Amanda would still be the best of friends 15 long years after we first met. I know that we do not see each other that often because Amanda got married this past February,Candy moved to FSU in Tallahassee, and I live here in Panama City. Even though we are now apart, I cannot possibly imagine my life without these two special friends of mine. Nor can I imagine how it would be if our friendships would have ended way back in elementary school. I don't have a clue as to who I would have laughed with, talked with, partied with, went to FSU football season and bowl games with, who would have been at the other end of the phone line when I needed an ear to listen or who would have been there with a hug and a shoulder to cry on, who I would have had as a driving partner (no one but Candy was brave enough to do that task the summer we had Driver's Ed together), who I would have shot firecrackers off with New Year's Eve 1995 (Amanda's granny still has not fully recovered from that episode. I do beleive we made the preacher lady cuss for the first time that night!)and most of all who would have been there when i needed them the most.But back to kindergarten, I don't see how poor Mrs. Williams ever survived that school year. It is a mystery to me! To this day, every time I see her I always tell her that she deserves a medal of honor for the 85-86 school year and that I know for a fact she earned her paycheck that school term! :o)Even though we gave her a hard time with all our mischeif, we know she loved us!:o)
After our kindergarten year was over, first grade brought many changes. Amanda's parents got divorced and her mom picked up and moved to Tallahassee and took Amanda with her. As if this wasn't bad enough, I got skipped up to the second grade. Candy was then the only one left in the first grade at school among our trio. However, as all good things should, our friendship stood the tests of time and geography.
Throughout the rest of elemetary school, I developed several hobbies and interests; some of which I am still involved in today. I began piano lessons with Mrs. Charolette Bailey the fall I started kindergarten. I took lessons until I graduated high school; even though I haven't practiced in a long time, I am still pretty good at it :o) I also was a cheerleader for the city leauge basketball and football teams (if you can imagine!). This was fun while it lasted, but once I got to middle school I was tired of it. I never picked up my pom-poms again. During this same time period, I also began taking dance lessons. I did this for 7 years and traveled all over the country competing in various shows. In dance class is where I met one of my other best friends, Lakisha "Kisha" B.. Me and Kisha have remained friends over the years, but our love for dancing faded long ago. However, the year I was in kindergarten, I did find my true passion, that is t-ball. I absolutely loved playing t-ball! I played center field for the Baby Pirates. We came in 2nd that year, but we had a great time playing anyway! After that, I played city league softball until I reached 8th grade. I started off playing 2nd base, but shortly thereafter, I realized that pitching is what I truly loved to do. So, at the ripe old age of 8, I began to pitch and have continued to do so ever since.
In the fall of 1990, I entered 6th grade and departed from the safe walls of Sneads Elementary. I was then forcibly placed in Sneads High School. Being my town is so small, there is no middle school. Once you are out of 5th grade, you are considered grown and put in the high school whether you like it or not! :) Even though I dreaded being at school with all those older people, it was not so bad after all. Before I finally graduated on May 31, 1997, I had become involved in many extra-curricular activities. I was a member of the Junior and Senior Beta Clubs all through high school. I also was on the yearbook staff for 4 years. I thought this would be a lot of fun, and it was, don't get me wrong, but it was also a LOT of work! I can't even begin to recall the countless hours I spent up at the school after-hours eitherputting together picture pages or working with the many pageants our staff sponsored. Selling ads was a whole different story! I rode all over the panhandle (or at least it seemed that way) visiting businesses begging them to show their support by placing an add in our yearbook. My first year I only sold about 10 ads. I was disappointed, but by the time came to sell ads the next year, I had fine-tuned my sales pitch and sold close to 25 ads! Guess I got more persuasive in my old age, hehe. Another thing I participated in was pageants. Before you make a judgement, let me clear the air by stating that this was against my will! My yearbook sponsor said "if you are female and on the staff, you will be in the pageant!". This is totally not my thing! I hate getting all dressed up in evening gowns and stuff such as that; much less parading around on stage for the entire town to see! However, looking back now, even though it was a hassle, I got some beautiful evening gowns out of the deal, so it wasn't all bad. I was also a JV softball player in the early spring of 1993, but I got moved to varsity about halfway through the season. So, from 8th grade until I graduated I was the varsity softball pitcher. First slow picth, then in 10th grade we went to fast pitch. It was different, but I managed without too much difficulty. I also played varsity volleyball in 9th and 11th grade. I liked the sport and I was actually pretty good at it, but me and the coach just could not see eye to eye. I was also a member of the first-ever (in Sneads that is) girls soccer team. The team formed my junior year and I played that season and also my senior year too. This, I would have to say, was by far the most fun I ever had playing sports! There were no nearby girls soccer teams, so we got to travel everywhere from Pensacola to Perry to play soccer. We were, well, ok, we were awful, but hey, isnt having fun what its all about? :o)I played lots of positions in soccer. I mostly played defense, but I did play forward a few times and even goalie once! However, I realized that everyone running at me trying to kick something I was trying to bend down and pick up was not for me. This became very clear to me after being kicked from head toe playing in the "First Annual Turkey Tournament" in Perry, FL Thanksgiving weekend 1996.
So, there I was, sixteen years old and already a high school graduate! I had completed a major step in my quest towards adulthood. I had a car, great friends, a plan for my future, a great boyfriend....wait...a boyfriend? Yep, you heard it right. He was my first love, my high school sweetheart, the love of my life, blah blah blah blah! His name was Adam Morse and we met in the early spring of 1997. From the first time we ever talked, we immediately became friends and shortly thereafter, we we the couple everyone wanted to be. He was was very good looking, mannerly, kind, caring, understanding, had a beautiful new truck, an ok part-time job, was attending college, was my senior prom date, and most importantly, he was *CRAZY* about me! Who would have ever guessed that an innocent conversation at Wal-Mart about that mysterious "8-point buck that got away" (hehe Rindy)would turn into a 3 1/2 year long relationship. I sure didn't. Over that period of time, we had good and bad times doing everything from riding 4 wheelers, jet skis, playing pool, fishing, swimming at Blue Springs, and just riding around talking. However, as with all good thing (or bad in this case) they come to and end, and that is where I am going to leave the legacy of me and Adam.
In the summer of 1997 (2 weeks after my 17th birthday I might add)I began to school at Chipola Junior College. I did great considering it was my first time in college. I also loved the fact that I was getting to meet new people and I was AWAY from my classmates at Sneads High School. I went to school there until the spring semester in 1998. This is when I transferred to Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL. There I made some of my very best friends. However, school there was not for me I decided, so I moved back home. I finished my A.A. degree at Chipola in the spring of 1999.
Over the spring and summer of 1999 I was a VERY busy girl! I started a job at Kiddie Campus Daycare and played my first year on the Lady Angels womens softball team along with finishing up my school! I also spent alot of time with my friends Janice G.. We met at Chipola that spring and became instant friends! Without her being there to for me as my personal therapist among other things, I don't think I would have ever made it! :o)She was the one always there telling me no matter how bad things got in life that there was always tomorrow and that everything was going to be ok. So, like I said, without her, I don't know where I would be today, and I appreciate her being such a good friend to me through all those rough times.
Another event that I was going through in the summer of 1999 had to deal with my grandaddy, Otis "Duke" Jones. Duke, as everyone called him, had lung cancer and Alzheimers Disease and had been sick since February 1998. Even though he had been ill for quite some time, he really went downhill around my 19th birthday in June of 1999. He got to where his voice box no longer worked and he could only talk in a whisper. He became disoriented frequently. He could no longer dress himself, bathe himself, or even go to the bathroom alone. My grandma refused to place him in a nursing home so he would be cared about, because when he was out of familiar surroundings he became violent(totally uncharacteristic for him before he became sick). Because I knew he was in such bad shape, I made a concious effort to make the 2 1/2 hour long trip to their house as often as possible. The trip I made to see my grandparents on August 18, 1999 was no different than any other that I had made in the past few weeks. Me and Adam had rode over early that morning and stayed several hours. My cousin Misty and her 2 little boys came over to visit us too. Right as we were about to leave I went in to see Duke. If I had known this was the last time I would ever see him, I would have had said sooo much more! I remember thinking about how ill he looked and how much he looked like he was suffering, but he seemed to be in better spirits than he had been in the last few times I had been over to visit. I walked through the doorway and my grandma asked him "Do you know who this is?" because the last few times he had not been able to call me by name and acted as if he did not recognize me. However, this day was different. He looked up at me from his hospital bed, smiled and said "Yeah, I know who that is. That's Miss Mandy. How are you doing, Sugar". I told him I was ok and that my daddy would be over to visit him on Friday, so he had better let my grandma shave his face, because if my daddy came and he had not let her shave him, he would be very disappointed. He just smiled and said "we'll see about letting her do it later" and then I told him we were leaving and he told me to be good. That was the lkast time I ever saw Duke alive. I thought it odd that he recognized me and was able to call me by name, but I didn't realize that what he was going through was the calm before the big storm. Me and Adam soon left and went back to his house. Just before I left to go home my mom called and said that Duke had passed away and I was just in shock! We had just seen him! There was no way he was dead! All I remember from that night is sitting in my car getting ready to go home around 9:30 pm, Adam squatting down by my car and crying and then hugging me for what seemed like an eternity. I, at this point, was surprisingly calm. I remember telling him not to cry and that at least he was not suffering any more. I somehow managed to drive myself the 20 miles to my house without wrecking my car or something equally as bad happening to me. The next day was a blur. Me and my mom went back over to my grandma's in Milton, FL. My dad had left the night before as soon as he got the call. The entire family was there and it was a very sad situation. None of the events seemed real to me. Everything seemed as if it were a chapter out of a storybook or something. However, the reality of the whole situation hit me that August Thursday afternoon while I was sitting there on my grandma's couch. I heard the most dreaded words a person could hear in the middle of the summmer in a house filled with people; My dad was in the hallway and all I remember is "I can't seem to get this thing to work!". That "thing" he was having reference to was none other than the central heat and air unit in my grandma's house. Once the temperature in the house rose to well over 100 degrees I knew that this was not a bad dream, but a real-life nightmare. My cousin's husband somehow located some window air units to put in the house. So, that night me, my mama & daddy, Grandma Jones and Miss Penny the Welsh Corgi all spent the night on the living room floor. It was the only remotely cool room in the house, so we really had no other choice. The next day was the day of the funeral. I got up early that morning and got ready to go to the funeral home even though the funeral was not until 2 pm. Everyone thought I was crazy, but I thought I was the only one with a bit of sense. I left and went to the funeral home. I knew they kept those places cool, so I was no fool, I went where I would not be about to pass out from a heat stroke. It was not long before everyone else figured out my bright idea. We were probably the only family in history that the entire family had shown up over 3 hours early for a funeral! It was a sad day, and I still miss Duke very much even though it has been almost a year since he went to be with God, but I know that he is in a better place and is watching over me every day. Yes, it's true, I may have lost my Grandaddy Jones last August, but I look at it this way; I gained my own personal guardian angel that day and that is something that no one can ever take away from me. He may have departed from this earth, but I still can feel his spirit by my side each and every day. It's like one of my favorite singers, Tim McGraw said, "We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere."
After the commotion from the funeral ended aand life got back to normal, I moved here to Panama City, Florida. I actually moved the week before all this happened, but I did not actually get to stay here and fix up my apartment until after everything settled down. The end of August, school at Florida State began for me and I loved it! Classes had not been this easy for me since high school. I have met so many interesting people here and made some great friends. I have now completed 3 whole semesters (fall, spring, and summer) and I will be a senior this fall. I am really looking forward to finishing here at FSU. I plan to either do one of 3 things: attend grad school here at FSU in Panama City, go to grad school at University of West Florida in Pensacola, or maybe go to law school at FSU in Tallahassee. Who knows what the future holds for me; only the Man upstairs know the answer to that. I once dreamed of settling down with "The Perfect Man", building a beautiful home, a good career for me and my husband, and have my 2-3 wonderful children. However, that has all changed. I know now that the "perfect" man is just a figment of my (and every other young girl's) imagination, unless I marry rich I wont have that mansion on the hill at first, good careers are attainable but they take dedication and hard work, and most of all I may have my 2 or 3 "wonderful" children, yeah, they'll be wonderful alright.....kids are kids no matter how you look at it. Sure, they may be perfect angels from time to time and do exactly as you want them to but then the sad reality of it is this, sooner or later, they're gonna wake up....no matter what you do, this is inevitable. :o( With that in mind, I have thought my ambitions through and I have decided that all I want out of life is to find happiness. I want to have a husband that makes me happy (he doesnt have to be perfect, he just had to make me happy...that's it) to have a family, and a job that I look forward to going to every day, instead of something I do for money. Like I said, who knows what the future holds for me....only God knows the answer to that. All I can do is hope the path that has been chosen for me leads me to happiness! :o)
 
Song: "Story of a Girl" by Nine Days.
| |
