Steve Gibbs Autobiography

For Sunday, December 31, 2023 Drummer Column, Gibbs, 945 words My autobiography part 3: Stanley the squirrel monkey I took Stanley home and put him in my bedroom. When my mother came home from the powdered metal plant, I broke the news to her. “Eh, mom. Don’t freak out, but I bought a monkey.” “You bought a monkey!” she yelled, red-faced. “You cannot bring a monkey into this house. I won’t have it. Where is he? He’s got to go.” “He’s in my bedroom in a cage. His name is Stanley.” “No! No! No!” She stormed down the hall to my room and flung the door open. Stanley was hanging onto the bars looking at her. He was so cute. Her demeanor changed. “Ah, I bet he’s hungry. Did you feed him?” “Not yet.” “Land of Goshen! He’s probably starving.” She went into the kitchen and grabbed a handful of grapes. Soon she was feeding him grapes and cooing. “Ah, he likes grapes. Why in the world did you buy a monkey?” ...

For Sunday, December 17, 2024 Drummer Column, Gibbs, 948 words Autobiography Part 2: Crash, Boom, Bang When my Simca with its bald tires began spinning, I remember thinking, “Holy crap. I’m having a car accident. Is this the end of me?” Not knowing was to do, I slammed on my brakes. The rear-end of my car crashed into the first of a string of steel guardrails and I came to an immediate halt. I banged my head against my driver’s window, but was otherwise unharmed. Then I noticed that I was soaking wet. The whole interior of the car was wet. I looked between my bucket seats and there was the guardrail. My car was bent into a V. Then there was a whoosh! The wet ignited. It was gasoline, and I was on fire head to toe inside an inferno. All I could see were flames. Luckily, I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt. The buckle was crushed against the guardrail. I pulled the door lever, certain that it would be jammed and I would burn to death, but i...

For Sunday, December 10, 2023 Drummer Column, Gibbs, 946 words Autobiography Part 1 – after high school, before college Many of my high school friends either went off to college or got married with children. A lot of the married guys got into immediate debt by renting big houses and filling them with furniture bought on credit. They bought new cars with little money down. Soon, they were taking second jobs to cover mounting expenses, babies were being born like popcorn, and a majority of the married men started drinking heavily, which they felt they deserved because of all their hard work. Soon, the divorces and trial separations began. The popcorn kids wore shabby clothes because the single moms couldn’t afford babysitters, which kept them from finding full employment. Cars were getting repossessed and replaced with clunkers donated by relatives. My friend Terry Riley, his sister Sandy, and her baby girl died in a car collision. Hit a pothole, bounced i...