My name is Tim Gunnison, I was introduced to Steemit by Jerrybanfield first I saw his videos on You Tube then I got brave and came over to Steemit. My hobbies are coin collecting, (mostly silver), Art and just talking and blogging to people. The main topic of my Channel is Art, but when someone comments or I find an interesting post, I will dive in and comment back.
My best experience here is finding discord and just posting and commenting with others. My bad experience, even though I am not here for the money, is that the votes and amounts per vote are rather small. Of course what can I expect for only being on here for just over a week.
Unfortunately, I refuse to predict life after Steemit. For one, we don’t really know how long we are here for anyway. I just operate on today, make hopes and promises for tomorrow. And hope that tomorrow will be as good as today.
So if I may, I will get on with my story:
I was Born April 17, 1955 North Tonawanda, NY
From 1958 to 1960-Lived in Pennellville, NY
From 1960 to 1962-Lived in Daytona Beach, FL 1960-1962
From 1962 to 1973 Huntsville, AL
Me on the stilts
My dad was transferred to Huntsville Space and Rocket Center to work in Huntsville, AL.
1963 was given penicillin in doses that caused me an allergic reaction that sent me to the hospital. I puffed up. My feet, face and body bloated. Was told I wouldn't live. But I survived. My parents gave me too much for ear aches. Because I had chronic ear aches when I was 8 years old.
There was a time in the mid 60’s that my parent’s decided to buy a couple of show dogs. They went to Birmingham, AL to buy them at a older gay couple’s. They bought two dogs from them, show quality with papers, for some very high prices.
I was tutored in how to show, walk dogs in Dog Shows. We were constantly going to Dog Shows, in Atlanta, GA, Nashville, and Memphis.
It wasn't too much longer, maybe a few weeks, but things changed around the house. What I mean is that objects began to disappear while we were at school. Things like antiques. Well, then one day we returned home from school and found the living room furniture, beds, dressers, lamps, everything gone. We were told that the lawyers and the bankruptcy court came and took it all. We were left for a long time to sleep on air mattresses. I suppose, looking back, they got over their heads by purchasing all those show dogs. What were they thinking? That they would get rich off the prizes the dogs won? I remember getting whipped for not winning 1st prizes. But I did win some. But all of those trophies’s and ribbons, my mother kept. Even though I did all the work and was punished for not winning the best of show.
In 1969 I started my first coin collection as a hobby.
1970, Joined the Police Ranger program in Huntsville, Police Department.
In 1973, my last year in school and the year I graduated, we moved three times First to Titusville, Fl then to Houston, Tx and then back to Huntsville, AL. we moved to Titusville, Fl. My father was temporarily sent there as his job with NASA and he took the family.
From 1973 to 1977 was in the US Navy. I joined the US Navy in October 1973 in Nashville, Tn. to be inducted into the service and get my physical and swear in. Went to Orlando Base for Boot camp Then in 1974 went to the San Diego, CA base for Disbursement school. For 6 week course to learn typing, payroll for Disbursing clerk. I was sent to NAS Meridian, MS.
1977 I was given an honorable discharge from the Navy and went home to Huntsville. I was taken in with open arms. But only 3 days of looking for work I was pressured into taking the first opportunity that came my way. This was a job at a 150 year old business, Huntsville Manufacturing Company. This company made linen from cotton. I got a job as a loom operator manning about 75 looms on a huge floor of looms operated by many other operators. I worked there and had a trailer that I rented. I had a Rambler Station wagon at this time.
During the first year a Union came in and selectively went around to the workers in the company trying to recruit new members, but the company had threatened to fire any employees that talked to or joined the union. So I tried to opt out.
Then with no warning I saw someone at my car with the hood up at night, but before I could get out to my car, they sped off. They had taken the coil wire.
Then I got threats on the phone and at work threats from the company. The company, Huntsville Manufacturing (a cotton to fabric material), laid me off, stating that I was turned in for having ties to the Union.
I stayed at the trailer until my money ran out.
Well, knowing how my parents were about a 3 day and then saying, I don’t know what your going to do, but you can’t stay here. I not to worry about it I will survive, (even though I was not so sure and didn’t know where to go).
Instead, I pleaded with a friend to at least live in my car behind his apartment in a large antebellum home in downtown Huntsville that had been restructured into apartments. I stayed there for at least 6 months. I was able to eat some potatoes from his kitchen and tried to not eat his food as much as I could, but my welcome was short lived, so I ended up scouting for food elsewhere. I mostly ate out of dumpsters like Pizza Hut, since I felt it was least likely to be contaminated. But, I ended up hungry most of the time.
Fall came and I made friends with some of the other tenants of the house.
But, even after all the magic of the time of the year, autumn, that year turned cold, so did my life. I became very depressed, cold and ended up one time I got back to the alley in back of that house after selling the engine and as many parts of it as I could, the car ended up towed away. I had no choice but to then sleep in an old broken down wooded storage building in the back yard.
After having stayed there for 6 months or so, my friend had sent word to my parents about my predicament and they came over one day and saw how I had been living. They forced me and with open arms moved me back to the house.
Of course the inevitable happened, After 3 days, I don’t know what you’re going to do but you can’t stay here, Happened.
But, this time was different. They told me to get in the car and my brothers Mike and Alex were in the car and they drove me on a long trip north into Tennessee somewhere.
to a commune with barefoot women, some with babies suckling on their breasts. Men had long hair, but mostly women. Well, we got there and into the place to a building. There was a hippy looking guy, who I suppose ran the place, my father went off into the building with him and they talked for a while. When they came out, the man walked over to me and asked if I’d like to live there. I was angry and sad, NO. He gave a terrible look to my parents. The man turned to my parents and said we are peaceful and doesn’t need someone full of anger here and said I couldn’t stay there.
We got back in the car and my father banged on the steering wheel, I don’t know what you’re going to do, but you are definitely not staying with us. That’s, that!!
When we got back to the house, oh it was horrible. My parents went off, on and on, about I have to leave.
I asked if I couldn’t use the phone and I called the girlfriend of the guy I stayed in the alley behind the house he lived in. His girlfriend lived with her mother near Cullman, AL.
I told her what had happened since I went home so she came and got me to take me to her mother to explain what my life had been. So I did. She was touched and agreed to let me stay there. Shannon and I went back to Huntsville to my parent’s home and all my stuff was outside in a pile. My parents even went as far as to even get my stuff they had of mine from when I was a kid and put it out there. It was quite a pile. They locked their doors and wouldn’t answer, I know because Shannon knocked and was going to give them a piece of her mind.
I stayed there a month or so, contacted my grandmother in Sanborn, New York, near Niagara Falls. I explained it all to her. I even told her that I was eligible for Veterans benefits for 4 years of college. That to my parents wasn't acceptable since I didn't have a car anymore. Even though my dad was at the time working at the University of Alabama at Huntsville.
My Grandma sent me the ticket and I boarded Greyhound and traveled up there to stay with them and go to the local community college up there. Life there was ok for a time, but they lived in a small town, where there were no people my age. My grandma was good to me and I got to go on jobs with my Step Grandfather who was a retired electrician. I got to meet my grandparent’s friends and play cards and Yatzee with them. But, it was still foreign to me. I got more and more homesick for Alabama. It was at this point I knew that I had to do something and talked to my friend in Alabama again. She at this time was attending the University at Montevallo in Ala. I arranged with her to transfer me to Montevallo University in Alabama.
But after a year, due to drugs and failing courses, I transferred to The University at Birmingham and changed curriculum from Business major to Art.
It was a UAB that I learned so much about painting and drawing and studied there for 4 years on the Veterans benefits to pay for 4 years College.
I first got a job at A major Department store called Pizitz and worked in Advertising as a camera operator Photographing artwork into the photos through screens that pixilated the image so that it was more easily used in newspaper adds.
One thing led to another and I ended up working at UAB in the Parking office as a cashier at a parking deck. After 10 years they moved me into audit of parking tickets to check for cashier honesty. I had to report on a few cashiers that thought that they could get bucks from the business, but when it got to be hundreds of dollars the department took action. Then I was upgraded again into the position of taking care of the finances for the department paying bills, and making financial reports. But that only lasted 12 years and they replaced me with a program to do what I was doing, but without having to pay sick pay, retirement, benefits and other things that cost the company money in employing employees. That is where I ended up applying and getting on social security.
Loosing my parents to my mother's constant jealousy in me having stayed in touch with her mother, my grandmother all her years. When my grandmother died in 1998, my parents disowned me and changed the number to unlisted so that they were not able to be contacted. This stayed permanent and I never heard from them again. They drank and were very unstable to keep in touch with. I made my peace by realizing that they were just people and they can dis who they want. I was all childish I believe, in that it was over my mothers jealousy and her not getting but a tiny fraction of my grandmothers estate. I didn't care about the money, I pined the loss of her friendship, her love and her letters. So it just means to me that friends are my family and that people I meet mean a lot more to me than some people realize.
Living at the bottom of the fishbowl my whole life, but maintaining happiness regardless. I refuse to feel anxiety in wishing I could live more comfortably. I have found Steemit and finally after having left Face book in Jan of 2017, have a new and better place to be with people. I live alone with my puppy, who you can see at several posts from time to time that I put up. I am trying now to save up some money to afford a cheap car that is dependable but used. Hopefully I can make that a reality in the near future. I know it will happen, but sooner seems such a better plan to hope on.
