I was rasied in Iowa with 5 other brothers and sisters. My dad was an alcoholic and was an abusive man. I never knew of a holiday that was meant to be happy. Our holidays were usually a day of cussing and picking our dinners off the floor. Thats usually where the food laned when dad would throw the table. Our holidays were� ones of� trying to get him off our mother. Most children have memories of good things as well as maybe a few bad� days. My memories are ones of my dad beating my mom and threatening to kill one of us. I can remember days of a gun to my head , a day where a knife was held to my moms throat and a day of where one of my sisters had a chair trying to beat our dad off my mom as we also tried to help. I can remember days where we were thrown out of the house in nothing more than our Pjs and no socks or shoes in the dead of winter with snow on the ground because dad said he didn't want us around. I can remember days of looking to God to help kill myself or my dad. I always wondered why God had done this to us. What did we ever do to deserve to be hated liked this. It was not Gods doing, but Satan himself working in my dad. It took me till now, at the age of 45 to realize it was not God but it was Satan.
I now, myself, have a child and I now know I can stop the cycle of abuse and live a good life. It may not be a perfect life, but it can be a happy one. We may not be rich in money, but we are rich in love. I know if I can do this on my own and share my sadness with others , maybe then the cycle of abuse on children can stop. I may at times get upset, jealous, or mad at others whom have had a life I had wish I had, but these are still things I have to overcome. Physical, sexual, and verbal abuse can be stopped, but it has to come within you to stop it. You must look within yourself and ask God for guidance. Look to others and share and ask and be there for them. We can stop the cycle. I know we can.
I hope you enjoy my son and our life and realize that you and your family can be happy.
Thank you
Marquettie
Faces life and faces death
To put aside our petty disputes
To keep us free, with one breath
The terrorists attack
On the World Trade Center
Took us all back
To that cold and bleak� December
Where warriors were on their ships
When Japan was wanting peace
Right then and there we were hit
By Japan's people, who were quite pleased
That threw us into World War 2
To stop the one man, Hitler
To set God's people free, the Jews
That we'll always remember.
The terrorist attack was the same thing
Only different people and different ones to blame
This throws us into war again, when we all sing
That one and true song, God Bless the USA
By: Joshua Engel
Age: 14
9-24-01
