Chapter 1

I was 5 years old when my family was caught in one of the worst highway pileups in U.S. history. 217 cars slammed into each other crushing the middle ones almost like the big machines in wrecking yards. Just think, the first three cars were all side by side when the middle car blew a front tire traveling at 80 mph. Swerving into the right lane car and bouncing back into the left lane car. The right lane car over corrected and ended up 90 degrees to the car behind it. The right lane car hit the concrete barrier on its right and did a 180-degree spin getting hit head-on by the car behind it. The middle lane car that started this whole accident rolled onto its side and was hit by the car behind it. Now because almost all of the cars were traveling at 80 mph or so, and less than two car-lengths between them, caused it cascade back to include all the other cars. My family was in the third or fourth row of cars in the far-left lane. A ¾ ton truck with a full camper was behind us and after we hit the car in front of us spinning 90-degrees the truck hit our car broadside from the front passenger door past the front tire.

My parents were killed/crushed on impact from the truck. I was in my car seat behind my father on the driver’s side. The impact was so hard it broke my right radius and ulna mid-shaft and knocked me out. I was unconscious for two days from the head trauma which helped to deal with the broken arm. With NO family or blood relatives I went into Foster Care 10 days after the accident.

The first home was really a center for holding kids until they could be placed. Two women ran the home, which was actually an old Victorian house that had eight bedrooms on the second floor, one a Master-bedroom with Master-bath along one side. Two bedrooms had a Jack-Jill bathroom between them, the older kids shared these rooms, boys in one and girls in the other as there were 2 bunkbeds in each room for 4 kids in each. 4 bedrooms went across the back between the others, with two bathrooms between the bedrooms (again 2 bunkbeds) and a toilet and sink in the middle. I was in the bedroom on the left of the toilet & sink with a full bathroom on the other side. The stairs were almost directly in front of my room. The first floor had the greeting room right off the front door, it was just big enough to hold a loveseat and three chairs. There were 3 hallways from the greeting room; 1 straight back from the front door, and one on each side. Straight back there was room with a toilet and sink that had a second door to the entertainment room and an archway that opened up to the stairs. The hallway to the left also led to this room. The entertainment room was the length of the house front to back about 45’ and about 25’ wide, with an archway that led to the stairway too. The hallway to the right led to the dining room which held a table and chairs for 12 but could be opened at both ends to extend enough to add four to each side making the table big enough to seat 20. The eight extra chairs were stacked in the far corner. At the back of the room was an archway that opened to the kitchen and one on the side that opened to the stairs. Under the stairs from the kitchen was the pantry and another toilet and sink.

Kids were only supposed to be here for a few months, I was here for 2 years. I still don’t know why. It was very nice here as the two ladies Mary and Josie were sisters and widows only 3 years apart with Mary being the older of the two. Mary looked just like Charlotte Rae and Josie looked like Marion Ross. Both were very strict about school and being active, they both spoke Italian and I was forced to learn it as well. I was encouraged to play outside a lot.

I was almost 8 when I was finally placed in a Foster Home. Bill ‘William, call me Bill’ Holderman was in 33 and his wife Susie was 30. He was shot up in Vietnam and Medically Retired. You couldn’t tell anything was wrong with him unless he was in his swimsuit, then you could see all the scars. He did lose his spleen, lower right lung, some intestines and his left testicle. He also lost the ability to have kids, everything worked but he was shooting blanks.

That is why they took me in, for five years. Bill was the definition of Hillbilly. Being from the Tennesse/Kentucky board, growing up on a farm west of Guthrie, Ky. He was about a 30-minute drive from Fort Campbell, which led to him joining the Army. When his parents died as the only child, he inherited the farm. Which I was now living at, learning to hunt, fish, and survive in the outdoors every weekend for all five years. Bill also taught me how to fight; fair and more importantly dirty! Fighting lessons began when I came home from school after being beat-up by three bullies. Two weeks later I was suspended for three days after putting all three bullies in the hospital, it didn’t seem to matter that I was also treated in the ER for a concussion, cut lip, black eyes (both), cracked ribs (several) and least of all a broken nose. Maybe because the three bullies all had at least one broken or dislocated arm, broken nose (all three), 2 were missing some teeth the other had a broken jaw, one dislocated knee, all had several broken ribs, and all had concussions as well as being knocked out.

Bill ended up in the ER too, and two of the bully’s fathers were across the hall from their kids. The third was smarter and ran away. The Hospital video camera filmed the whole scene start to finish, just as Bill stated. All three followed him out to the parking lot and said they were going to teach him a lesson he should pass on to his kid. Bill stated that he had already taught his son how to deal with bullies. That was the end of talking and after the first guy hit Bill; he began their lessons. Never pick a fight with a Green Beret if you want to live to talk about it, enough said.

It was a few months later that the one that ran away made the mistake of shooting Bill and not killing him. He also made the fatal mistake of killing Susie with one of the bullets that passed through Bill. Bill got to him before he fired 5 shots and only 2 hit Bill one killed Susie, none hit me. The 6th shot went into the guy’s chin and out the top of his head, not sure if he pulled the trigger or Bill pulled it for him, but Bill held the pistol under his chin with both of his hands.