I don't really KNOW a lot about my early years. meaning my birth and the circumstances leading up to my adoption. I know what I have been told, which a lot of what I have been told comes from not so reliable sources. except for the few things i remember my parents telling me but then again they were told these things by other people so who really knows what the truth is. This is my story from all the pieces I have pieced together. Truth? Who knows. From what I have learned over the years it seems like it could quite possible be the truth.
What I know for sure. I was born January 26th 1977 to Chris and Kathy Gable in Muskogee Oklahoma. They were young and a bit on the wild and immature side. They liked their drugs and they liked to party. I was named Tammy Marquita Gable and I had a mass of black hair. I came from American indian decent, how much who knows. I have been told anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2.
What I have been told. Kathy and Chris had some drug problems and really didnt need a child at that time (or anytime for that matter) Some how they split up and custody was given to Chris. Chris was a self absorbed, crazy nut job of a man who would rather feed his belly and drug habit then feed and care for a child. I stayed with my great grandmother a lot and on one of those visits Kathy came and asked if she could take me out for ice cream. To which my Grandmother agreed. She packed me up and high tailed it to Las Vegas Nevada where her Mother lived.
I have two memories of this visit to her house in vegas. that is riding on a horse with kathy and being told to hold some sort of stick and to not hit the horse with said stick. I hit the horse with said stick. She also had bee hives which i found to be very interesting. I was probably 2 at the time. I was told her reason for going to Vegas was so she could get custody of me since Chris had no right or place to care for a child. In my opinion she wasnt much better. The story goes that she had some sort of death certificate on him, fake? Or that she had police records on his abuse towards her? Who knows. Anyway she took me to Child Haven until she could figure out how to make things legal and keep me for herself and away from him. While I was in child Haven she met a man in the services and forgot about me in child haven and left Vegas with him. I wouldnt hear from her again until I was 14.
Once Child Haven figured out she wasnt coming back they placed me in foster care. I have many memories from foster care. My Foster Mothers name was Glenis. I dont remember anyone elses name but there were quite a few other kids there. None my age though all probably 8 on up to their teen years. I never sat at the table with the rest of the family. I had my own table in the kitchen and got to eat when everyone else was done eating. A lot of times there wasnt much left but I enjoyed what I was given. Some of the older kids got a kick out of locking me in the garge where they had a play kitchen set up. they would turn the light off and lock the door. i would cry and scream until I peed my pants. When my foster Mom was around she would take me to the grocery store with her where she would always buy me a wind up toy to play with when we got home. I loved those toys and I still remember how excited they would make me. Glenis also had a husband who tended to smack her around. At least once anyway from what I remember. He slapped her, and I and another girl ran and hid in her room and listened to her and his yelling. She eventually came back there and held and comforted me. She needed the comfort but I didnt know how to give it. I also remember one of the older girls had gone to the carnival one evening and came back with one of those HUGE lollipops and wouldnt share it with me!!! After she feel asleep I snuck into her room and helped myself to it. It was worth it. I still remember how wonderful it tasted. I have a few other memories but not of many. their are often times i wonder whatever happened to Glenis and those other children. Did they ever get adopted by a loving family? Do they remember me? How did their lives turn out?
When I was 3 a social worker picked me up and took me to McDonalds. There was this older couple there who showered me with praise and went on and on about how stinking cute I was. the lady really had a high pitched voice and the most beautiful smile plus a contagious laugh that kind of came out her nose as it also came out her mouth. The man tried to get me to go down the slide but once i got to the top I freaked out and came back down to where he was waiting for me with open arms. A few weeks later (Im guessing a few weeks later) on I got to visit them at their home. As the social worker and the man walked off to look at the house I stood in the living room utterly confused to why I had been left by myself and what was I supposed to do? Not long after they left the lady with the high pitched voice came in from shopping , dropped her bags on the floor , ran over to me to hug and hold me and to tell me how cute I looked.
Not long after this The Man and high pitched voice lady became my parents. Dick and Betty Grable. My name changed to Tamara Lee Grable and my life became what it should have always been. They loved and cared for me and made me feel like the little indian princess that my Dad would always call me for years to come. They are and will always be my Mom and Dad they gave me such a joyous child hood. Every child in foster care should be so lucky to be adopted by such amazing people.
Thats my beginning and all I can type for now. I thought this would be the easy part to write about my life. It was actually more hard then I expected.
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