The begining

I was born in Houston, Texas a long time ago to the daughter of greek immegrants and a Fr

Fenchman, They were outcasts in Texas, because of their status, I was a Texan.

They weere both highly accomplished, piolots, prossessionals, nurse and they moved to find a good life in Texas, mostly for me. They Struggled and survived and I lived the middle class dream (or nightmare)

Saddly I was very bright, but so much so that my third grade math teacher took my parents aside and said I would never accomplich much in math or sience.

I read vorasiously, I was intewrested in everything, but I became more a loner with only a few friends, who were not like me. Heck, no one was like me.'I finished the elementrary libray by 4 grade abd was measured a 1200 words a minute with 9% comprehension in 6th grade (If they only knew I read it twice to get that comprehensipo,)

I stilled stayed more to my self and loved insects In 6 th grade my math strength became apperent and was it because my dad let me off on my on or brccause he prepared me to think different???

Anywat I didn't have any scoe lee than a B after that and would sit in math class playing chess and quicky gave correct answers when when call in a moment. My Math teachers were mad cause I was labled non numeric.

I played sand lot foot ball, team baseball and swam and swam and became a target for the junior olypians at the YMCA.

And was not interested, learned chess from the board, ping pong baseball. But go to a team.

In High school, I was the misfit, to smart (for the brains and to athletic) not team oriented ehogh for school sports and actually to young for my class so I hung with the lower grades.

sandlot foot ball and baseball was a joy and I really got a long with those people. My best friend lived on my dtreet and was none of the above, but he was smart, he was my age and in the lesser grade.

I loved all sciences, reading and quickly settled with scifi and fiction as my favorites. I competed in Debate ternaments, but soon discovered that my intellect and reasson was flawed because great emotion and passion and anger would flow out in the formal debates, rendering my arguement usueless.

Spiritully, I was Greek Orthodoxy (Think greek weeding without the family) and searching

I had no sibblings, no family near (VA beach was the greek side and France was the French side) and they were ot part of my like.. I saw them greek side every few years.

I was a scientist with no real understanding of spirituallity except the greek festival that occur yearly and a sunday service once in a whi;le. My Dad didn't care becase he saw Roman injustist in SSpain during the wa, r and would nither go to Roman church or France. He did go to an occasional greek service.

So the end of high school left me feeling alone and my Christian friends trying to help.My best friend was stauch Methodist and was never pushyThe other became a convert to the charismatic evangellical movemnt and would constantly bombbard me. The question of who influenced was never it doubt, the quiet one, who would patiently listen to me rant and rave and then say, maybe you should try it for a while and let me sit fumming aand flumoxed, cause there was no defence against that. The other would drag me off to camp meetings and try to convert me at every turn.
As I was preparing to go away for thr Summer (it was not planned, but for 2 weeks in Va Beacg with my cousins and aunt and uncle who owned a motel in Va beach and ran it.

In the quiet of room, with all my emotions boiling and turmoil in my head and heart I asked for elp and had an experience and was at peace.
We left the next molrning and I stayed with true strangers for 2 months away from home and parents for the first time in my life,'
I caught myself after work at nigh (Ihelped clean rooms) on the board walk singing for joy and lots of people tried to get me to be their style of christain, but That wasn'y happening. I was free and happy and open. I swam, met people, layed on the beach, ate a learned a bit about my family. that I did not know.
I think ther is something familiar about all greek families and very difficult to enter as an outsider, even though they tried very hard. I as an outsider and loving it. and they wold hate me for saying it.

Whille at the hotel I got to play ping ping ( which I was good at, not great) and was in a 3 game match with the ohio state chess master where the score was 1-1-1.
\i came home after 2 months by plan and my parents didnot recognize me, I had lost weight, got a great tan and seemed taller to them.
I went back to school with a vengance, but I did not take 24+ semester hour like the first 2, I took 18 and 20.
I became slighlt involved at the evangelistic temple, but they did not recogizze my friends spirituallity cause he did not speak in toungues...That was usless to and no different than all the Baptist heavan and hell stuff.
He became invovle breifly with an inner city charasmatic episcopal chuch that was actually tryinh to do something and help people in need. That made sence, but was more difficult, because they were experimenting with a concept called community and household,
This made sence they were not requiring special signs, but participation and some form of comminment.
School and outside jobs a continued with vissits to other churches, catholic, baptist, pentcostile etc. My girlfried was abit afraid and would not join me ( she was staunch baptist and stopped comming)
I had a kind of direction, but not completely sure ,,, I still lived at home and it was getting time for me to continue. Rents were cheap in Houston, gas was cheap in houston, Living was cheap in Houston and warm.