Chapter 1

     The grass was tall and as I walked through it, I put my arms out at shoulder height flipping the seeded tops as I made my way.  It was a beautiful, sun-shiny day as I escaped the big white house and the family behind me.  I could hear them calling for me, but I ventured on hoping to steal away for just a few more minutes.  More than that though, something was drawing me.

     Pushing through the grass, I came upon a man, a bright-shiny man.  He was dressed all in white and was extremely muscular, balding on top with white hair on the sides. 

     “Ricky,” he said, “Please, don’t be afraid.”  

     Despite the fact that I was trembling inside to the marrow of my bones, I simply said, “I am not afraid.”

     I could tell he saw my fear, but he smiled kindly and told me, “I have a gift for you.”

     I asked him, “What is it?”

     He then reached inside his bosom and pulled out an absolutely beautiful, gold sword.  It looked fairly plain but solid gold, heavy, smooth, and very shiny.  

     I looked at the sword and thought to myself, “When he leaves, I will play with it.” 

     He smiled seeming to know what I was thinking and said, “It is not a toy, but it is for you.” 

    Then he said, “I need to give this to you as it came from me.”

     I said, “Okay.”

     He then placed the sword in my bosom.  It slipped right in painlessly and seemed to dissipate as I felt just a light touch.  I then heard the family calling for me again more frantically than before and I turned to check on them.  

     Realizing that I needed to go back, I turned to inform him so, but he was no longer there, seeming to have simply vanished.  

     I thought about him quite a bit over the years and one day on T.V., I saw a soap commercial with “Mr. Clean” in it. He reminded me of the man who gave me the sword and so it was that I came to refer to him as the “Mr. Clean Angel”.

     I was two and a half years old when this event occurred.  I would not see him again for about ten years.

     They came into our house and took us away. I still remember the terror of that day like it was yesterday. 

     They put me in the back seat of a car, and I stood up looking out the back window. They yelled at me to sit down but I was defiant and stayed standing up looking out the back window. 

     My thought was to keep track of where we were going so that as soon as I could get away from “these people,” I could find my way back home.

     Watching as we went down each block making each turn, I tried to memorize my way back by repeating to myself over and over again each turn we made.  Each new street we went down, and each turn we took, made it harder and harder for me to remember.  

     One of the last streets I remember going down was a curvy road.  Too many streets and too many turns to keep track of and I was lost forever.  I finally gave up and sat down in my seat.

     They took us to a place where there were lots of other kids and later that night, I was shown a bed where I was informed I could sleep.  At first, I laughed and told them that I didn’t believe them.  I asked them if it was a trick.  They assured me that it was not a trick and that this was my place to sleep.

     I asked them, “For how long?” 

     They responded, “All night.”

     I responded asking, “Are you saying I can sleep here all night, and no one will kick me out?”

     “No one will kick you out, “I was told.

     I got up on the bed and to the best of my memory, it was the first time I had ever slept in a bed.  That night, I slept really well. 

     I remember one of my brothers got right in my face as we were being moved and separated, to make me promise to stay with my sister Janet no matter what, and not to let them separate us.  I promised.

     It would be twenty-eight years before I saw that curvy road again.