The Hard Way: Book One

By Jonathan McCuller

This book is an introduction to the world according to Jonny. It is not for the weak at heart, but is intended to share a small part of my life with you, which includes the Early Years, Destiny Florida, A touch of High School, Golf, Navy, Skiing, just to name a few.. As you read this book, you may think to yourself that at times I am enhancing the truth, but in fact you will find as time goes on that it is not only the truth, but it goes way deeper! So Sit back, and transform yourself to my words, and you will see for yourself that these words are nothing less than wholesome! I want you to know you will find my antics amusing, and other times appalling, but everything in this book really did happen. Nobody has that good of an imagination, including me! So sit back and enjoy the rollercoaster of emotions youre about to go on!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 19, 2011
• ISBN: 9781467071239

Book preview

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Five Short Chapters

I dedicate this book to the two most inspiring people in my life, my mom and my wife. Mom, thank you for always being there for me, and never giving up, even though I put you through hell throughout the years. If it was not for your Love and Patience, I would have perished a long time ago. I honestly do not know how you kept it together all these years! To my beautiful wife Daggie, whom I cannot possibly live without, you are my world. I know I am the luckiest man on this planet to have you in my life. Your unconditional love and support you have for me is immeasurable.

Thank You!

All my Love,

Jonathan K. McCuller.

I would also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Mike Piper who is very special to me. Thank you for all your countless hours of tutoring and assisting me in writing this book. I would be lost if it was not for your expertise and patience. Thank you Mike!

Introduction

The following is before any memories of mine so I asked my mother what I was up to my first few years of life before my personal memories accrued.

At the age of 16 months you were very proficient at undressing yourself, climbing out of your playpen and opening doors to escape while I was busy taking care of your baby sister. One day when we lived in a rented house in Greenlawn, you did just that and was missing for over an hour when a neighbor spotted your naked little body walking along the road and brought you home. He knew where you lived because he had seen you and me before as we always took walks around the block and met people.

When you were two you again got away from me again and sat yourself on the curb across the street. One of the nasty neighbor boys threw a lead pipe at you and split your forehead open. A neighbor brought you to me and there was so much blood I didn’t think you were going to make it. Needless to say you had a nice trip to the hospital for stitches. Of course the little wimp’s mother came over profusely apologizing for her son’s actions. Finally Pop came over and erected two huge eight foot posts cemented into the back yard and you were tied to a clothes line to run free but not out of the back yard; which was the only way to keep you safe.

Another storey I remember is the Christmas Nana gave you this huge yellow, supposedly indestructible dump truck, which you dismantled five minutes after getting it. Reassembled, you proceeded to push it right through the sliding storm door in the family room. We had boards at the door for a week before it was fixed! I am sure you remember the time you brushed your teeth with Uncle Stan’s shaving cream and came out of the bathroom crying and foaming at the mouth! Oh Jon, so many stories to tell! Good luck writing them all down.

Love Mom.

Chapter 1

The Early Years

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Jill, Becky, Pop, and Mom

I was born in late September 1964, which makes me a Libra. My parents met while working in a hospital. My father is an immunohemotologist, who is Jamaican, and my mother is a nurse, who is German, American Indian, and English. I have two older brothers: Jimmy, and Jeff, and one older sister Judy, and one younger sister Jill. As you can see, we all have names which start with J including my parents. I always thought that this is pretty cool.

We live in a five bedroom, brand new house, in an Upper Middle Class White Neighborhood. It has a bathroom downstairs, a formal living room, a big kitchen, a family room with a fireplace, and half way up the stairs is another great big room. Upstairs is another bathroom, and five bedrooms which was pretty radical for this period of time which will all become quite clear as time goes on.

My first memory that stands out to me is when I am about 4 years old. It is a blistery fall day, and dad and my oldest brother Jimmy and I are shopping for a car. Dad is looking for a Lincoln. We arrive at the car dealer, and go inside of the automotive dealership. My father asks me which car I like the best? This makes me feel special, because my dad is letting me pick out the car. I am standing and spinning around and around in a circle just like a merry go around and after I spin around, oh for about five minutes or so, I stop and I pick out a Lincoln continental. Dad then asks me, Is this the one you like son? I am jumping up and down shaking my head yes, Daddy this is the one I pick. It is a shiny black color you can see yourself as if you are standing in front of a mirror with tinted windows in the back, that you cannot see in. We do not drive that car home this night, but we do buy it.

We drive back home, and when I begin to get out of the car, Jimmy accidentally shuts the door on my forehead, and there is blood everywhere. I will later become very familiar to both pain and blood. Mom rushes me in the house, and wraps my head with a towel, and the next thing I know we are at the hospital. I am getting 6 stitches in the middle of my forehead. Mom is with me the entire time and I have not shed a tear, because I know when mom is there everything will be okay as she always takes care of fixing things to make it all better. When we get home from the hospital, mom gives me some Vanilla Ice Cream, and that is that.

The summer of 1968 my father, Jimmy, Judy, Jeff, and I are going to see our relatives on my father’s side down in South Carolina. Driving and seeing different places is exciting. When we get down to the Carolinas, we see a chain gang on the side of the road. They have black and white stripped outfits on, and they are cutting grass with hand held tools. I ask my father why do they have to wear those chains on their legs, and he tells me, That’s what happens to you when you are bad." I do not think much of it at this time, but somehow this sticks with me in my brain.

When we get to our destination, we meet for the first time our relatives on our dad’s side of the family. The way they are talking is very confusing to me because their accent is throwing me off. The food is really weird to me as it tastes very greasy and very strange to me as well. We are eating things like Hamhocks, Chitlens and Gravy, and of course Cornbread which none of this I like, but what do I know?

The second day here Jimmy, Freddie Judy and I are playing in the yard. The house has a tin roof on it and the yard is tucked amongst a grove of oak trees. The yard is red clay like dirt, with lots of ants which like to bite you. The third day here, I am playing on the side of the house, when I come across a snake. I call for help, and my uncle Haywood comes running out of the house as he hears all the comouchen going on. When he sees the snake, he grabs a pitchfork, and stabs the snake. I am feeling bad that the snake has to die, but it turns out to be a Copperhead Snake which is highly toxic to humans. Uncle Haywood says, Life in the country. The best part of the day is when dad gives us a nickel to walk a mile to the country store where we buy candy. It is very hot and humid, and in the afternoons, you can count on a thunderstorm.

After dinner is over, we play for awhile before we have to go to bed. Jimmy is sleeping next to Judy who wakes up screaming as she has a Tarantula Spider crawling on her chest. Jimmy knocks it off her and throws it outside.

On the fourth day here, we are going over to some relatives for a barbeque. Despite it being a hot muggy day I am having fun with my brothers as we sneak around the house Jimmy and Freddie light up a cigarette. As Jimmy and Freddie are smoking we notice somehow a mule gets loose from his pen and starts running and kicking all over the place causing a big ruckus. . Uncle Haywood offers us three two dollars if we can catch it, and return it back to its corral. Despite the fact that this is a lot of money, we decide to just laugh and watch as the mule runs around bucking and making a scene. This is a fun day indeed.

The fifth day here Jimmy, Jeff, and I are walking into the cornfield which is across the street from Uncle Haywood’s house. The corn field is much taller than I am, so it is a little hard for me to find my way. Out of nowhere, here comes a big black cloud that covers the sky. This huge lightning bolt strikes, and a second later the thunder follows with the rain pouring down sideways. I am so scared that I run all the way back to the house while Jimmy and Freddie are running behind, laughing at me. Jimmy says look at him run, he could win the Olympics I do not find any humor in this as I am so out of breathe when I get back to the house I just collapse on the floor happy to be safe. When we return home, I am so happy to see Mom. I give her a big hug, and I tell her how much I love her.

I am noticing that my father is not coming home at night anymore, and I only see him on the weekends. I ask Mom why this is, and she says Your father does not love me anymore. Dad picks us up and tells us that we are going for a ride to Connecticut. We stop at a rest area on the New York State Throughway to get a bite to eat. I am really hungry. As I get out of the car, I start running to the restaurant as my dad is telling me to slow down, but I do not hear him. I also do not realize that the door is not open, and I run right through the glass. Glass shatters everywhere, but I come out of it without a scratch on me. The manager comes out to talk to dad and he takes care of things. Dad is so embarrassed that we order our food to go, and we are back on the road.

As dad is driving on the highway, there’s a police car behind us with a siren on. Dad is getting pulled over for speeding. I do not think dad was driving fast, but I guess he was going fast enough to get pulled over. Dad pulls over to the right side of road and waits for the officer to come. After the officer asks for dad license and registration he issues him a ticket, and we are back on the road again. After an hour on the road, we arrive at this house which is another very nice house a lot bigger than the one we live in with mom, but there is nothing but woods behind the yard which is nicely manicured. Dad asks everyone if we would like to live here. Dad says there are deer in the woods behind the house, I think this is pretty cool, until I ask if mom was coming, and dad says, no. That brought an end to that day, and dad drives us back home. He drops us off and drives away. I am confused as to why dad doesn’t stay home with us.

My parents no longer live together as my dad has his own place now and living with another woman name Carol. My dad comes and picks us up on the weekends, and he takes us to his place. I really don’t like Carol because one time she told me to do something and when I said You are not my mother my father slapped me in the face. I run to my bedroom crying. Dad drops us of at home and I ask mom Why is he with another woman? She replies; Your dad and I are no longer together. I tell her that I never want to go back to his apartment again. I don’t really understand what is going on, but mom assures me that everything will be alright, and that is good enough for me!

My mother is left with five children, a big house with a mortgage, utilities, food, gas, all with no help from our father, as he seems to have fallen off the planet, and gives no support whatsoever. No birthday cards, no Christmas presents, no visits, NOTHING! Mom is going back to school to get her degree in nursing and is working two jobs at the same time. I do not know how mom does it, but she makes sure we always have food on the table, a roof over our heads, and clothes on our backs.

On the way to work one day mom’s transmission goes out on the car, she gets the car towed back to the house, and then she has to take the bus to work. She doesn’t have any money to get the car repaired so she walks two miles every day to the store after work so we will have food for dinner until she can get the car repaired.

As busy as mom is with working two jobs she finds time to take us to the beach. We love going to Sand City, which is our favorite beach. We play in the water all day long, never wanting to leave. She also takes us to the movies which is fun as we get a large bucket of popcorn which we share along with a box of candy and a large soda. This is always a special treat, as it seems is always someone’s birthday.

I wake up one morning, and I head down to the kitchen to have breakfast. Brothers and sisters are already sitting at the table eating their breakfast. I go over to the counter to take out two pieces of bread and put them in the toaster. I am standing here waiting for my toast to pop up, when I notice the toaster is glowing orange. The toast never does pop up. I am thinking that I need to get this toast out before it burns, so I go to the drawer and grab a butter knife. I walk back to the counter where the toaster is and place the butter knife in the toaster to free up the toast. The knife makes contact with the heating element and immense an electrical shock to my arm. Throws me across the kitchen, and I land on the floor. Brothers and sisters a re laughing hard as my hair is standing straight up, and I have this confused look on my face. This is a hard way to learn a valuable lesson, but I will never mess with the toaster again!

We are all very close to our grandparents on our mother’s side. We call them Nan and Pop. They are very loving, and every Sunday we always look forward to going to their house for the day. If you are lucky, Pop will ask you if you want to take a ride to the country with him. This is always a lot of fun as he seems to know every single person along the way. My favorite is stopping at all the different fire departments. Pop had been a fireman for some fifty plus years, and has friends at every single fire station. On the way home, we stop at a few farm stands where pop has friends. While at the farm stands we get fresh vegetables and fruit. My favorite is getting peaches. Pop’s house is a lot of fun as we play all day long. Nan and Pop’s friends come over and they play cards while we watch TV. I always watch Wild Kingdom, baseball, and Disney. Wild Kingdom is my favorite show because I love animals so much. Nan and Pop also live two blocks from the beach, which is always a lot of fun because we swim and fish.

By far my favorite thing to do is catching crabs, which Pop has taught me over the years. We go to Blue Point Pier to catch crabs. Crabs are active in the early morning, late afternoon, or early evening in the