Was an only child who gramma doted on for years. He was an 'A' Student everywhere he went to school and had pretty close to total recall. Mom was the thirteenth of 13 Lithuanian immigrants but she managed to get born on US soil. She told me her brothers used to kick her ass if they caught her talking to men when she was in her late teens. They'd evidently slap the shit out of her for the slightest offense. She scrubbed floors during the 'great depression' of the 1930's for nickles and all the family pitched in.
My dad on the other hand just went to school and had a paper route. My grandfather was a drunk and my grandmother a nurse. She always had work. He seldom had work. My father told me once he hated my grandfather for being such a slacker. I m sure thats one of the reasons he told me later in his life that he hated me. But there were sooooooo many reasons.
My dad and mom met in 1942 in a bar in Philadelphia and drank and danced their way into matrimonial bliss after knowing each other for a week. The got married in Maryland. It was a 3 day residency and they got a room. I didnt come along until 1950. Mom was catholic and dad had to convert to marry mom. He agreed that I should be named after a saint when I was born and they gave him a book to look at that held names of famous catlick saints. He settled on King Edward "Confessor" His middle name was 'edward' so they named me "Rex Edward". Fuckin thanks a lot. I got in lots of fights over the name "Rex" usually a dogs name. But now a days I could care. But growing up it was a problem. It didnt have a real identity stuck to it like a Paul, or John, or Dick, or Harry... It was exotic and thats where in rural America ya didnt need an exoitc name. We lived in the rural Midwest. Moline as a matter of fact. Out by the airport. I swam naked in creeks, played baseball, caught crawdads, and learned to kiss at age 5. We had these twins living next door who liked me and kissed me all the time. I was cute as a lil kid. I got in trouble a lot for kissing the girls. I got chewed out at school, and at church, and in the hood. But damn I liked girls and kissin em was soooooooo cool. In 1959 we moved from rural Moline to downtown cause my dad was having a house built in East Moline (his first new house, it cost 15,000.00 an average sum for that era) It was unpretentious and had a hip roof. French windows (fake lil panes) and a lot that was like 100'X 150'. He liked it. He wasnt there much cause he'd joined the DOD as a systems analyst (computers the coming thing) and was all over setting up programs in COBAL and FORTRAN and what ever else he did. Mom Jes drank and drank and drank. Miller High Life I recall. We lived at that address in East Moline until 1966 when Dad was transferred to Joliet, Illinois. I had learned to play guitar and I had put together a band, when the news came. Oh well.
Joliet was loaded with hispanics. I'd had a lot of african americans but little contact with hispanics. The hispanics in Joliet were beatle haircut, beatle high heel shoe, beatle suit wearers. I was ordered to wear short hair cause long hair was for queers. I got into a band as a singer but I really sucked. I was still learning guitar when Hang on Sloopy was popular. I wanted to learn some "Boogie Chillun" type music but mom and dad would not allow nigger music in the house unless it was Chubby Checker. Who I thought for all the world sucked. I wanted to play guitar blues in the key of E major. Everyone made fun of me because a true bluesman played only in 'G' or 'C'. And they made fun of me cause my name was Rex. and I wasnt italian. However I got on well with several Italians in Joliet and we had fun when we got to play. Then In the spring of 1967 I was told we were moving to Washington, D.C. cause my dad was gonna work for the Pentagon. Viet Nam war and stuff and they were updating the digital communications like mad.
Someone had put a roomsize computer on a chip as small as a tie tack. My dad had one. Things were changing and we were gonna be there for it. So that spring we moved to Annandale Va. on Glebe Road and I went to Wakefield for a semister. The reb kids hated yankees, and transient people so It was cold and nasty. I did get to see the Yardbirds and Janis Joplin. I learned about hashish and marijuana and EYE magazine and politics. I knew I was in a world of shit cause I didnt get good grades and I was becoming draftable....
Bowe
