I was born Franklin Amos Mattson in Jennersville, PA in 1963, the last child to Thomas and Janet Mattson. I have two older brothers–Thomas and James–and an older sister–Sara. The first four or five years of my life, I imagined full of turmoil only because of the simple fact that I was not living with my biological family. I lived with an Aunt for a while but I don’t remember that time period. My first memory was when I was four or five years old. It was my birthday and I was living with a foster family in Delaware. It was a happy moment of my young life. I still visited my biological family at times supervised by the State. I spent most of my younger years with that foster family until I was 12 years old. At that point, they adopted me. Shortly thereafter, they divorced so I was in another broken home. After the divorce, I lived with my adopted mother. That was a difficult time. I had no father figure to help me learn about things growing up into manhood. My adopted mother and I always argued and I ran away from home several times. Most of the time I would just wonder around downtown and end up going back home when school started up the next week. Looking back, I can say that I did a good job with what I had to deal with. In my teen years, I had my share of trouble. I was a quiet, shy kid looking for something to fill a void in my life. Getting in trouble was a way of getting attention, but the wrong kind of attention. I remember the last time I got into trouble when I was a teenager. A police officer pulled me aside and talked with me. One of the things he said to me, “You don’t belong here. You’re a good kid and I don’t want to see you waste your life away.” That got me thinking. I was sixteen, the man in the family since the divorce, and I had to find myself.

Still I did not know what I wanted to do with my life. Instead of staying at home and doing nothing, I decided to join the service. One weekend I went to the mall where the recruiting offices were. The only one open was the Marine Corps. A Sergeant greeted me at the door. He was dressed in his blues uniform. At 16, just the look of the uniform was impressive. Talking to him made me feel that I belonged. That night I signed up. Since I was under age my adopted mother had to sign me in. The Corps did straighten me out and I received my training in the field of my choice. As a bonus, I traveled around the world. I lived in Japan for over a year. By the way, great people and culture. If you ever have the chance to visit, I would highly recommend it. Most of my travels have been with the Marine Corps. I only put in eight years. Nevertheless, they were great years. I have met and worked with the finest men and women in the world. The things I have learned while in the Marine Corps have made me the man I am today.

After the Corps, I found work in the computer field. I have seen the computer evolve over the past 30 years from big mainframe computers with vacuum tubes to the small laptops, tablets, and cell phones that I am currently using today. That has been a journey in itself. I have totally enjoyed my endeavors in the past and am hopeful to find satisfaction in my writing. I decided a few years ago–when threats of layoffs from my job–that I would try my hand at my dream of writing. I have written a few short stories and also working on a novel. In closing, I hope you enjoy my website as you partake in my journey in this fork of the road called LIFE.

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