When I was 16 he bought me my first car, an old yellow Volkswagen beetle, for $500.00. He taught me to drive, then he made me pay for my car by baby sitting. A year later my car was stolen from the parking lot at my high school. It turned up in San Diego a month later. The insurance company told Ed that the car was totalled and gave us a settlement for the car (after giving me a rental for a month). Ed didn't believe that the car was as damaged as they said, so he went and bought the car back at auction for $100.00. It was in fine condition, all my things were still inside and he drove it home.

My daughter was born almost 13 years ago; she was very small, being ten weeks early. She had to stay in the hospital for 6 weeks. My mom came to stay for a week, and then a week after she went home, Eddie flew out to Texas all by himself. He wanted to see his little granddaughter. One of my most favorite pictures is of the two of them, my great big stepfather and my tiny 2 pound daughter cradled in his arms.