Beginnings

I was born August 17 1948 in Tampa FL at MacDill Air Force Base Hospital. My father was Brownlow Reaveley Beaver (1916-1958) son of Dr Edgar Beaver (1886-1971) and Mary Beaver (1898-1958) of Gallup, New Mexico. Originally from Georgia, Dr Beaver took his family to Gallup, New Mexico to operate the the Public Health Facility situated in the historic McKinley County Court Housev

there. Brownlow attended The New Mexico Military Institute. He enlisted in the Army Air Corp during WWII and was assigned to the Stars and Stripes Army New paper. He was a reporter/photographer assigned to the Air Force Base in Tampa, FL.

My mother was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. (May 11, 1923-May 10, 2006). She was one of four children of Martin Vasquez and Maria Gastambide. Her mother passed away when she was very young and she ended up being the mother/caregiver for her father and the two brothers. Her sister had been sent to live wuth a relative. She was working at the base PX when my father and she met. They had two children. Leyla Beaver ne Gallegos of Socorro, NM and myself. My father was a Staff Sargent and my mother went to work for the General of the base.

When Brownlow had been shipped to Germany for his last tour of duty. Mother had to go to Gallup with two children by herself. Imagine a woman who has never been away form Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Ocean, crossing the United States in a Crosley Station Wagon with two toddlers to end up in Gallup, NM. Then, when she arrived she was met with hostility from my father's mother and sister, They did not appreciate her culture and loose attitudes. Much like many strict Anglo Protestant's of the time, she was not welcome with one arms. The one redeeming factor at the time was that mother had a winning personality and Grandpa Beaver was kind to her. Then Dad came home.

Like many of the men who went to war My father came home with an affliction that was not visible. He liked to drink and the local Elk's Club was welcoming to the amicable Brownlow Beaver. He and my mother used to hang out at the Club, which led to jealousy and fits of rage from both parents. Mind you, this was not unusual for the time and place, Gallup is the Indian Capitol of the World and still had the air of an old west frontier town. It included the EL Rancho Hotel famous for the movie stars who cam to film in Gallup. My Aunt Alice Hanks was he manager's wife and participated in many soirées for the town's visiting celebrities. My mother became a reporter and photographer for the Gallup Independent the local newspaper. My father worked the press room as he did not like being in the public eye. Mother thrived on it. Soon. she was a force to be reckoned with and that drove my Grandmother and Aunt crazy. This affected my growing up there. When I arrived in Gallup, I could not speak a word of English. I was reared in Puerto Rico and my father spoke fluent Spanish. My Grandmother was appalled. My grandfather thought it was cute.

Life on the Railroad Dirt Roads

Gallup was a rugged railroad town surrounded by high desert mesas. For a young kid with endless curiosity, the alleys, trading posts, and train yards became an open classroom in self-reliance. Like many kids who grew up in Gallup, I was pretty much on my own for most of the time. Mother had to go to photograph events, wrecks and/or murders. They were never during normal work hours. Once she had to go photograph the murder-suicide scene of her best friend. It was tough but she did it because it was her job and nobody else could or would do it. Meanwhile my father and mother separated. We went back to Puerto Rico for a time and I loved it there. However, mother's family held it against her that she had married a Anglo soldier and she was not too happy there. She and my father reconciled somewhat so we went back. While in Puerto Rico, Mother hosted the Munoz Marin Nestle hour.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Mu%C3%B1oz_Mar%C3%ADn

I was an unpaid actor playing the role of Tarzan's son, "Boy" in the commercials. It did me no good when I went back to New Mexico. My first lesson in the memory of the public regarding celebrity. Once your are gone the memories fade quickly. Mother fit right in to the politics of wherever she was living.

Then in 1958, tragedy struck. My father had a myocardial infarction (MI),infarction (Massive heart attack). It was sudden and over in a minute. Mom and I were on our own. It was the beginning of the end for our time in Gallup. I sold newspapers and converted to Catholicism as I became more spiritually aware and wanted to get to to the root of Christianity believing the Church was the original historical Church. Heavy thoughts for an 11 year old. Hen we moved to Grants, NM.

Grants, NM was a desolate little town between Gallup and Albuquerque. It is located on historic Route 66 and is touted as the Uranium Capitol of the World. It was there that I got to ride my first motorcycle. I became my own person. Nobody had heard of my father and mother was the society editor of the Grants Beacon. In retrospect, Grants was a major turning point for me, I received y last spanking form my mother. When she started to spank me, I took the belt away from her and said that was enough. No anger or violence just stated the fact and she accepted it. We were there for two years when my mother saw the writing on the wall,