Thursday, June 06, 1996

Stumpapalooza

It looks like the week of non stop band practice and exam neglect piad off. Our first show went pretty good. It was in the backyard of my parrents house on the deck. We had the backyard full of people. Id say there were 75-100 in all. Red Headed Step Child opened for us and they were awsome. We played Around the Bend (John Allen), My Name is Jonas, Exsistance, Yesterday and How it Should Be. People seemed to be having a lot of fun. When I fucked the lyrics of Yesterday up they all started singing along. It was really cool. After she show people were welcome to stick around and go swimming and hottubbing. Only a couple people stayed. One happened to be Betsy Curran.

Monday, October 16, 1995

She's Electric

I picked up the new Oasis album (What's The Story) Morning Glory? today. I got it because of the song Wonder Wall but as I listen to it every song is good. They're better than good; this is one of the best albums I've ever listened to. It's like the Beatles came out with a new album or something.

Monday, December 26, 1994

The Beauty of Grey

On the way back from Christmas in Chicago I asked if I could drive. I had just gotten my learners permit and could use some time on the highway. Reluctantly my dad said yes and just outside of Gary we stopped at a gas station, everyone peed and I took over the driving. About 20 minutes in it started snowing. It must have been snowing this side of the lake for a little while because very quickly we found ourselves slowed by traffic and slush. I stayed in the fast lane because I wanted to get home but my parents started freaking out. "YOU'RE GOING TO FAST, SLOW DOWN, YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING, PULL OVER." It would have been one thing if they had simply given me some advice. Unfortunately they were yelling and screaming as if I was going to kill everyone in the car and everyone in a 2 mile radius of the car. Defeated, I pull the car off the highway at the next exit.

Safely in the parking lot of a McDonalds my dad and I get out. I open the sliding door to let my mom out so she can return to the front seat. As she’s opening her door I put on my black trench coat and grab my backpack. "Where do you think you're going" asks my dad. "Don’t worry about me, I'll get a ride," I reply. "Get in the fucking car." "No." Then I turned to Jenna and asked her if she wanted to go with me. I could see in her eyes that she did but she was still unsure what to do. I held out my hand for her to take if she wanted to come. She took it and my mom yelled, "you 2 aren’t going anywhere now get in the car so we can go!" I pulled out my 9mm and shot out the front and rear passenger side tires. Next I put the gun in my mom’s cheek and said, "SHUT UP! You're not going anywhere. If Jen wants to come with me then she’s coming with me." Jenna got out of the van with her coat and bag and we walked across the street to the truck stop. There we found a TIP trucker who was going to Battle Creek and would give us a lift.

Friday, June 26, 1992

Never Again

I mowed the lawn for the first time today. Not only was it the first but it will also be the last. I was about half way through and apparently had done something wrong. I’m not sure what it was that was so terrible but my dad took the lawnmower from me and told me he would finish. Fine, I didn’t want to mow the lawn anyway. He can do it until the day he dies for all I care. I will never mow this yard.

Wednesday, April 29, 1992

I Was Crying When I Met You

Mike, Dan and I were down in the library today working on something on the computer. While we were sitting there the vice principal came in and appeared to be showing some girl around. I’ve never seen this girl before. She is incredibly cute though. I hope Ill be seeing a lot more of her.

Thursday, July 20, 1989

The Truth is Revealed

Today my mother told me that I was adopted. She gave me a blue folder containing everything they knew about my birth parents. It contains 3 pieces of paper.

Thursday, September 06, 1979

Background Summary - David Ross DeVries

The young lady who gave birth to David was born on April 8, 1964. She was 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighed 130 pounds, had medium brown hair, blue eyes, and a medium completion. Her national background was Irish, French, and Italian, and her religious background was Baptist.

The young lady was a high school student who would be entering the ninth grade in September of 1979. She had missed one year of school at 12 years of age, cue to extensive back surgery necessitated by an accident that year. She was an excellent student and regarded her education as quite important. She very much enjoyed reading, language arts, and literature. She hoped to attend college after she completed high school. She was a well rounded teenager in her interests and abilities. She was talented musically and played in her school band for a number of years. She also took private flute lessons. She was also a well coordinated girl with a lot of athletic skills. She was an excellent swimmer and gymnast and really loved the out-of-doors. Her favorite sport was river rafting. This young lady was an extroverted person who loved people and who had developed a great deal of social skill for a girl of her age.

This young lady was very open about her pregnancy and was also certain throughout her entire pregnancy that adoption would be the best plan for her child. She was very eager to know that he would go into a stable, two parent, and Christian family. Although it was a very difficult thing for her to do after delivery, she did go through with the adoptive release.

This young ladys relationship with Davids father was one of being childhood friends for several years. Their relationship was not a sexual one, and the pregnancy resulted after some exploratory sexual behaviors on their part. Both were quite surprised by the pregnancy and the alleged father also agreed that the best plan for David would be adoption. He cooperated in all legal procedures.

The young ladys biological father was 35 years of age at the time of Davids birth, and was employed as an electrician. The young lady never knew this man and he had never been a part of her life. Her mother was 33 years of age and had become pregnant with this daughter out of wedlock at the age of 17. She had reared her as a single parent for almost two years, at which time she married and her new husband adopted this young lady. Her mother had completed high school and was a homemaker, although she had worked in secretarial positions. She was a devout Christian. The young ladys adoptive father gave the young woman a great deal of security, affection, and understanding throughout her growing up years. He was a born again Christian. Both parents were very supportive of their daughter and helped her through the pregnancy and delivery. Although the whole family were open in discussing plans for the possibility of keeping the child, all came to the realization that it would be in Davids best interest to be placed for adoption. The young lady had one brother, born to her mother and her adoptive father. He was 11 years old and in the sixth grade.

The alleged father of David was born on March 26, 1962. He was 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighed 150 pounds, had reddish brown hair, brown eyes, and a fair complexion. His national background was Welsh on his mothers side and Mexican-American on his fathers. His religious background was Baptist.

This young man quit school in the tenth grade due to some minor adolescent adjustment problem. Since that time he straightened out considerably and had set some worthwhile goals for himself. He had recently received his GED certificate, after successfully completing this high school equivalence test. At the time of Davids birth, this young man was employed as a mechanic and showed a great deal of aptitude for this trade. He was an intelligent young man who was quiet and did not readily express his innermost feelings. He was described as being witty, even tempered, and as getting along well with others.

This young man never knew his own father, who had divorced his mother the year he was born. His father would have been age 40 at the time of Davids birth, he had completed the eleventh grade, and he was working in sales in a department store. The young mans mother was 38 years of age, had a high school education, and had attended business school. She was employed as a sales woman for wholesale buyers. She was the sole support for herself and her children. She became a born again Christian and was an active member of a Baptist Church. The young man had one brother who was 19 years of age. This brother had completed the eleventh grade and was in the army. He was also married.

As to significant health history, there are very few concerns that need to be noted. The young lady herself had anemia due to the pregnancy. High blood pressure was known to exist in great grandmothers in both the young ladys and the young mans families. The young ladys grandmother and great grandmother both had diabetes which was controlled by diet.

David Ross was born on July 20, 1979 in Denver, Colorado. At birth he weighed 7 pounds 12 1/2 ounces and measured 20 inches in length. His APGAR ratings were 9 at both one and five minutes. His physical exam at time of discharge from the hospital was entirely normal. He had fine brown hair, large blue eyes, and a fair to medium complexion. David was discharged from the hospital on July 23, at which time he was placed in a licensed foster home through the Denver County Department of Social Services. David was transferred to a Bethany licensed foster home in Grand Rapids on August 18, 1979. He was placed with his parents on September 12, 1979.

Bethany Christian Services