Journey of a Lifetime (1991 - 2010) - A Memoir By Daryl and Heather Bellows

By Daryl Bellows and HEATHER BELLOWS

This is Book 2 in the Series.

 

This memoir is a glimpse into Heather and my library (1991 – 2010).  I have authored Heather's memories that she has told me through the years, as to not confuse the reader …and provide a consistent flow.

 

There is a saying "Can't see the forest for the trees."  That sums up these two decades (my 20's and 30's).  I was so busy trying to be successful for my family, that I neglected to enjoy my family.  Although the hard work did pay some dividends, in hindsight, I could have 'balanced' personal and business life better. 

 

The primary purpose for these books is to serve as 'memory back-ups' for many funny stories and memories that we really don't want to forget.  Our future …old …decrepit self's' is the targeted audience.  I'm sure when we are old, we will appreciate this little time capsule.

 

Everyone on this earth has unique experiences, good and bad memories.  This book documents the good memories that are worth remembering.  Heather and I have been fortunate to have experienced quite a few. 

 

The secondary purpose is to provide something that can be handed down to our children - it is a sort of DNA time-machine for them.  Our children have been the cornerstone in our relationship and much of this memoir clearly centers around them.  I would have loved to have something like this handed down to me from previous generations.

 

I hope you find enjoyment and laughter during your read.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daryl Bellows
• Release date: Jun 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393485957

Book preview

For Hillary, Drew, and Liam

Table of Contents

Preface

My Army Reserve unit got activated

Red River Army Depot

Don’t keep powdered doughnuts under your rack

Seeing Heather on the weekends

Driving off the road in Hodgen, OK

Playing Music with Mike and Ed

Heather Singing

The 1971 MGB

The lead-up to Hillary

Poteau, OK

Heather and I get married

Tension

Getting locked in a McDonalds freezer

Addicted to Nasal Spray

Gluing carpet to my car’s dashboard

You’re in the Navy Now! (that was a saying)

Hillary is born

San Diego

Culture Shock

The saga of the Blue Chevy Sprint

Changing a head-gasket in a motel room

Denting up the hood of our car

Rolling the car into the dealer lot

Warren saves the day

El Cajon

My birthday-cake

3:16 am

Postcard from Heather to back home

Ruining an Apartment

Tori visits us

The Toilet Graveyard

The see-through swimsuit

Sarah visits us

Navy work

All My Children

The Chloroform incident

Music that we liked during this time

Baby Hillary

Barney

Cleaning Freak

Money was tight

Friday Nights

The Filipino stray dog eaters

Cooking challenges

The wacky world of El Cajon

The Guardian Angel

Mike comes to visit us in San Diego

Rosarito and Puerto Nuevo

The Hungry Hunter

Getting into Computers

Santee

I smell bacon

We continued with our music

Attack of the killer geese

Playing in the snow

The Rocking Chair

Jason and Michele

Twinkle, Twinkle

Drew comes out of the oven

Medieval Times

Favorite food spots

Hillary locks herself in a room

Proof that money does not buy happiness

Introduction to the Marines

Iwakuni, Japan

Getting there was NOT easy

Can I get some privacy?!?!

I lose Heather and the kids in Tokyo Grand Central!

We no pay for porn!

Hillary is a trooper

Hiiir-Ra-Ree!

What’s wrong with his head???

Drew’s 1st Birthday

I’m so hungry I could eat a hamster

Life on the base

Where I worked

Our house

Drew and My Gas Mask

Heather broke her toe

Something on TV that freaked Drew out

The Chicken Shack

The melted cheese incident

Diarrhea song

Finger-painting

Time to wean Drew off the teat

Drew’s punching bag/toy

Mr. T and the Easter Egg

The Pearl Harbor Planning Room

Daytrips around the Japanese countryside

Hiroshima

Keiko-san

Our two-week Japanese camping adventure

Meeting the local villagers

Climbing Mt Fuji

Our tent nearly floated away into the Sea of Japan

Our time in Japan was an exhausting blur

Drew, calm down and be quiet

Pics/Videos

Dallas, GA

I’m Ugly!

Drew at Cracker Barrel

The Little Booger Who Could

Caulking, not Cocking

Boiled Spinach

Adjusting to civilian life

Diet Pop

The black preacher incident

Daddy, did the waitress just blow her tip?

The Captain D’s memory

Stephanie!  Who’s Stephanie?

The Dalmatian

Heather’s spanking was a laughing matter

The Rabbit invasion

Hillary, the ‘swinger’

A Tae Kwon Do fail

The Chinese restaurant

Where did Drew go?

Proud of Hillary

Lion telepathy gone wrong

Drew messes up some music lyrics

Little Smokies

Adia

That’s not a monkey!

The Ricky nightmare

The shopping-cart disaster

Oops, I did it again

The Chicken-rabbit

Drew and school field trips

A goat got him good

Horsing around on the bus

Angela’s sweet-16 birthday nightmare

Drew and Hillary were very silly

Drew moments

Make a Run for It!

The bridge in the Florida Keys

DBMax

Special Effects

Prank Christmas gifts

Angela’s dog poops on Dad’s pillow

Hillary and Drew and the racetrack

Rotten Easter Eggs

Pics around this time

Jasper, GA

The Indoor Pool idea

The Commute to Work

Pics around this time

Hillary and The Ring

Hillary’s walnut prank

The About Schmidt incident

Selling Lemonade and Kayaking

Awkward Silence

Signature Forgery

RECON’n Hemlock Trees

Over Yonder

Family pic

Ansley stories

Shave and take a bath!

What’s so funny?

Riley stories

Throwing her food behind her

Cherry

Here Comes the Sun

The Band Director, Mr. Smith

Drew’s punishment

Drew’s loves to aggravate!

Hillary and New Orleans

Trick’n the Statue of Liberty

Trombone

April Fool’s Joke and the Pyramid

Embarrassing Heather

Sassafras Root

Drew and the ladies

Butterfly lips

The trampoline chiropractic technique

The butt-pants punishment

Drew was always giving his Mommy lots of affection

Heather and Hillary loved to watch The Gilmore Girls

Parental Regret

Music of the times

Drew’s Cyclic Vomiting

PlayStation + Gameboy = Playboy

Death of a cousin

Scary ingredients

Popular Pic

The day the earth stood still

Hillary and Drew fought

The sweater straight jacket

Hillary and Drew’s home movies

Pets during this time

Lucy – Grandma Heather’s Mom (2001)

Smoky (2004)

Lilly (2004)

Abby (2004)

Sam (2006)

Princess – Mom, Dad, and Angela’s dog (2006)

Hummy (2007)

Charlie (2007)

Sophie

Mr Hello (2009)

Drew, the ventriloquist dummy

Voice impersonation at Burger King drive-thru

I try to impress the kids with my Skateboarding skillz

Drew gets banned from eBay for life

Drew almost gives Heather a heart attack, twice

Hilarious Videos

Drew and Hillary’s favorite movies/shows

Cute pic from around this timeframe

Hiking

Drew locks himself out on the front deck

Drew is into sports; Hillary is into band

Grandview Lake

A ridiculous amount of travel

Middle-aged Angst (poem)

No Point (poem)

Corporate Mischief (poem)

Funny stories from business trips

Missed Turn

Rental Car abuse

Working in Jamaica – it’s not like you might think!

Daisy Dukes

She’s Jamaican me crazy

Strange Savanah

The Royal Gorge pee-pee club

1st class, frozen puke

Mission Impossible

Did a steak just fall out of your purse?

Heather and the kids

Hillary and Piano Lessons

Pictionary (I think this was called something else)

Drew and Skateboarding

Colorado Springs Vacation

Golden Bee

Bishop’s Castle

We went on some hikes and saw lots of things

Heather gets chased by a buffalo

The colon cleanse practical joke

Northwest Vacation

Timberline Lodge (The Shinning)

Possum in the dog-food bag

Casey

Funny story from Talking Rock

Marietta

Unbreakable Glasses

Favorite Vietnamese restaurant

Ivan

This mask has been used in so many pranks!

The Bathroom Cabinet

Grandma Barbara

Halloween

The Others

Steak ‘n Chunk

A memorable Anniversary

Smashing Pumpkins

My t-shirt with two holes cut out to show my nipples

Drew’s Poetry

Where I’m From

Mom

The Mustang

Drew sings some Coldplay

Cruise to the Bahamas

Northeast Vacation

Drew is admitted as an Adult, Hillary is admitted as a child

The Itching-Powder and Fart Spray Incident

My lobster poops on the table

Beautiful pics of Hillary

Tighty-whities and pink house-slippers

Andrew Jackson impersonation fail

Heather’s Mom gives me a spanking

Kayaking with Chad

James comes into our lives

The Barbershop

Drew looks like Elvis

How Liam Came to Be

Closing

Preface

This is Book 2 in the Series.

This memoir is a glimpse into Heather and my library (1991 – 2010).  I have authored Heather’s memories that she has told me through the years, as to not confuse the reader ...and provide a consistent flow.

There is a saying Can’t see the forest for the trees.  That sums up these two decades (my 20’s and 30’s).  I was so busy trying to be successful for my family, that I neglected to enjoy my family.  Although the hard work did pay some dividends, in hindsight, I could have ‘balanced’ personal and business life better. 

The primary purpose for these books is to serve as ‘memory back-ups’ for many funny stories and memories that we really don’t want to forget.  Our future ...old ...decrepit self’s’ is the targeted audience.  I’m sure when we are old, we will appreciate this little time capsule.

Everyone on this earth has unique experiences, good and bad memories.  This book documents the good memories that are worth remembering.  Heather and I have been fortunate to have experienced quite a few. 

The secondary purpose is to provide something that can be handed down to our children - it is a sort of DNA time-machine for them.  Our children have been the cornerstone in our relationship and much of this memoir clearly centers around them.  I would have loved to have something like this handed down to me from previous generations.

I hope you find enjoyment and laughter during your read.

Note: I have included a Table of Contents for ease of use to link straight to the stories. 

My Army Reserve unit got activated

Igraduated Supply school and made it back home to Oklahoma in the latter part of 1990.  I enrolled back in college and was all set to start spring classes in January (at NSU).  A call in the middle of the night messed up those plans.  My parents got the call and were upset.  They woke me up and told me that I had an important call from my unit.  My unit (827 th Supply Company, out of Muskogee, OK) was activated for the first Iraq war, Desert Storm! 

At the time, there was no question, I was going to Iraq.  Reserve units were getting activated left and right and all heading to the middle east.  Our last war had been Vietnam, which was a horrible war and that war was in the back of everyone’s mind.  I wasn’t supposed to get activated.  The reserves were supposed to stay state-side and the regular Army was to go over instead - that’s how things worked in Vietnam!  I joined for the college money! 

My mother was not happy about this (remember, she lost her first husband in Vietnam).  I wasn’t scared, I was just mad that I was going to be away from Heather ...again!  On the other hand, I was a little excited to see a little conflict.  I was clearly still brainwashed from boot camp.

Red River Army Depot

C:\Users\DBELLOWS\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Content.MSO\4676E69B.tmp I ended up not getting sent to Iraq and instead was sent stateside to a place about 15 miles west of Texarkana, TX, called Red River Army Depot (near a little town called New Boston).  I’ve always wondered if the Officers knew this all a long and just wanted to make everyone think they were going to Iraq.

By the way, I had no idea how to fix that generator pictured above - fake news.

During the actual conflict, I worked LONG hours, boxing up supplies, driving fork lifts, and other supply warehouse related duties.  I would get off work at 3 a.m.  I still have very good box taping skills!  I apparently did a good job because I received an Army Commendation medal.  I think I got it because I was the only guy that didn’t talk back to the Sergeant first class.

The city of Texarkana was the closest piece of civilization, and where we would go if we wanted to get away from base.

Half of the city is in Texas and the other half is in Arkansas.  I remember there was this state-line road where one side of the road was full of sinful establishments and the other side was churches and billboards preaching at the sinful side, across the street.  It was so weird.  I’m not sure if it is still like that.

There was this whole thing about dry counties back then where you couldn’t buy any alcohol.  Even if you could buy beer, it was watered down with very low alcohol.  It’s like the beer manufacturers made special beer for the bible-belt states back in those days!

While in Texas, I made a good friend, named Paul Kennedy.  We had worked long hours (3pm to 3am) together and had some deep philosophical discussions, while boxing up stuff to ship over to Iraq.  Sometimes we would go to a nearby Denny’s after work and get a bite to eat before going back to the barracks to crash.

For instance, Paul taught me this:

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt - Abraham Lincoln

Unfortunately, I never was able to follow that quote very well.  I think my ADHD has been a challenge in