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.
Hi Frank, thanks for following my blog.
Frank, wonderful to learn about you! All as a result of your recent decision to follow Learning from Dogs that brought me to this place. Thank you!