The information, about me, above, has been built from very humble beginnings.  I was born in Miami, FL.  My father was a 20+ year Army man who left our family when I was 10 years old. After which, we were dumped in a small town in Georgia, called Valdosta, the home of Moody Air Force Base.   This then required that I become the man of the house, which put me in many vulnerable situations.  I suffered through poverty with my mother and 3 other siblings, after losing my younger brother and best friend to cancer after a fall down the stairs. 

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My mother immediately started being more physically and emotionally abusive.  This all culminated in us living in a project housing complex with no opportunities for the youth.  There were many times that I didn't want to live.

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From ten years old to sixteen years old, I did not eat.  My mother did not buy food often enough so, I worked in cotton fields and tobacco warehouses to buy food for me and my siblings (yes from 10 yrs old).   I then learned to pick pecans to sell in my neighborhood for food money during the summer, because many times school was the only place that I had something to eat.  I walked miles to and from the store to buy groceries with the little money that I made.  I walked miles to and from school because there were no buses that came to our area.  Each year when school started, I was given hand-me-down clothing from church members to wear.  This clothing, many times, was tattered and/or too small.  To cover the holes in my shoes, I wrapped them in electrical tape.   Many times I look back and wonder how I made it.  I can only say now that it was the courage and drive, that God blessed me with.  So, I am here now to support others.