by Betty Stone

Created on: March 26, 2009

I hope that the terrible things that I went through can help someone else avoid the same awful childhood that I had.Mental illness can be a root cause of child abuse as you will discove by reading my reflections on my childhood.I would not want anyone else to go through what I have been through and maybe by reading my story,you can realize if you are dealing someone who has serious issues with anger and what to do about it. That person may even be you.

My father had serious anger issues that I witnessed and was subject to at an early age.He had an explosive and violent temper.And it did not take much to set him off.The earliest memory I can remember was being hidden, along with my oldest brother, by his parents(My grandparents.) I remember my Grandaddy hiding us under a long shelf at his store and covering us up with big empty sacks we picked cotton with.I also remember my father charging into the store and demanding to know where we were and my grandparents telling him that they didn't know.I do not remember what happened when he did find us and have probably blocked it from my mind.

My father's anger was directed at not only me and mostly my older brother,but also my mom and anyone that disagreed with him.I can remember many times when we would be in the car and he would get angry at another driver and actually race the other car.With his entire family in there at the time.I was particularly terrified when we would be on a bridge and he would be driving so fast and reckless.All I could do was scream and to this day,I am terrified of going over bridges.My mother could only beg him to stop and he never listened to her.

He actually started a fight with a man who bumped him in passing on a sidewalk.It was awful.He threatened people with violence and his anger knew no bounds and could not be contained.Every football game we ever went to ended with him getting into arguments with people who made him angry. You had to hold your breath every where you went with him.

MY older brother was his favorite target and it did not take much to set him off.I would dread when he came home with his report card.One year,he actually tore his report card up.I could not believe he did that but I guess he thought if daddy couldn't see his bad grades,he could not punish him.He was so very wrong.The anger displayed by my father that day is burned into my brain like a brand.He beat my brother with a baseball bat and when he got tired of that, he used his hands.He actually was trying to break

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