My Story by Bruce Trammell

When I tell my story, I grew up thinking I had such a unique story, that, would blow you away. I started working and meeting fathers, who had stories that were just as raw and painful as mine. I found people who had suffered with fatherlessness and abandonment issues. Some had resolved them; others had never got the answers they were looking for. So, this is not a story of woe, but a story of finding the satisfaction in someone hearing our story and us, maybe finding a soothing answer. My story was simple in a way. I searched for a father that was really a fantasy. You see, I had a father. I loved him, I hated him. He never stopped teaching me things, like how to live my life in this cruel world. I wasn’t afraid of growing up. But I looked forward to it. Like any son, when dad didn’t give me what I wanted at the time, I was mad at him, it was really quite convenient. But he was teaching me lessons, life learning lessons. My best friend’s father used to say to us as we walked together, (four men on whatever mission we were on), we would say; as we passed the candy store, can I have a dollar to buy some candy? His response was always the same; You’re old enough for your wants not to hurt you! Needless to say we didn’t get the dollar.

My childhood was filled with engagements with men who taught life the way they lived it. They weren’t perfect, neither was my dad. But I got enough information to make my own decisions.

So, even a man who didn’t get everything he thought he should have gotten from his dad, we hope someone taught him a lesson or two along the way.