“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.” ~ Lao Tzu
It was 1978 and after getting off the bus I turned off Lynn Valley road and walked up the gravel lane past the highway overpass. I walked in through the rear gate at the back of the house and found the basement door in the dark, which was down a few steps. I walked in through the mostly empty and unfinished basement with a damp concrete floor and open rafters above. Along the back wall was a wooden bench to the left of a door which led to my room. The table had a small two burner hot plate, next to a small sink and some cans of beans and wieners. To the left of the table was the door to my bathroom and shower. I walked into my room, flicked on the light and opened the bag I was carrying from the record shop at Lynn Valley Mall. I pulled out the Heart album, “Dog and Butterfly”.
In the two years I had been on my own, I had escaped an abusive home at 16, unknowingly leaving my younger brother next in line for what I had just escaped. A few months later I nearly killed an old man with my car, busting his body up so badly, bones pierced his kidneys and lungs causing him to gurgle “oh my God, oh my God” on the stretcher next to me in the ambulance. I also had my skull and face busted apart and then wired back together along with some plastic surgery in my mouth. Along with a bunch of dangerous driving charges I was being sued for $300,000 ($250,000 over my insurance minimum at the time).
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