Brink

Intro Growing up a military brat wasn't the worst thing I could imagine. I met a lot of people and got to experience a lot of different cultures. I got to see Italy and France before I could drive, and have witnessed Ireland in mid fall. But, is a normal kid a recluse- shutting out any and all hints of affection from the outside world? Temporary friends, I called them; the ones who served a purpose for three months before we were forced to relocate again. Without any sort of social structure I grew up thinking that my family was the only thing that was ever going to be solid in my life. I knew that no matter where we were going what situation we would be in and how long we were going to be there My family my mother and my father and my brother were always going to be there when I needed them. I got knocked out the first time when I was 9 years old. I got jumped by a bunch of kids who were trying to steal my bike I fought back and one of them hit me in the face with a baseball bat. I came too over my brother's shoulders riding my bike away from scattered bodies in a parking lot. We didn't talk about that night but I learned two very important things. The first, was the important of safety and numbers. The second, was the value of leverage. See, big brother didn't beat down those seven boys with his fists. From them on he was my idol, my protector- the baddest mother f$#@er on the planet.. to me anyway. I was 14 when he enlisted in the army. The day he left was the day that my life fell apart. Everything that I had come to value, the very foundation of who I was crumbled with the realization that family, just as easily as temporary friends, will leave you in the rearview mirror the first chance they get. The next few years consisted of a lot of drugs alcohol and one night stands, most of which I don't remember. What I did retain from those rage fueled years was a love for turning wrenches and the wind. At 17 my parents divorced and I took a job at a motorcycle shop in Ukiah, CA to pay my rent and finance my vices. One day while working at the shop a small group of 1%ers stopped in- one of their members had caught a flat up the 101. I jumped in the tow truck and followed them to the break down. When I got out of the cage to assess the damage, I met an outlaw named Abel. To be continued...